File photo of Suryakumar Yadav© AFP
T20 World Cup champions, India will clash with Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series which gets underway in Gwalior from Sunday, the 6th of October. India start firm favourites and are the number one team according to the ICC T20I Rankings. Bangladesh are way down in the pecking order at number 9. India will be led by Suryakumar Yadav – their new captain in the format and will be without the services of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja – the trio resigned from the format post India's triumph in Barbados earlier this year.
The series will give an opportunity for India's young crop of talented players to showcase their mettle on the world stage. We look at 5 players who could play a big role in the series, as also explained in this analysis.
1. RINKU SINGH
Rinku Singh is India's new finisher in the format and is known for his brute power and ability to clear the ropes at will. He had a brilliant start to his T20I career and hammered 356 runs in his first 11 innings at a scintillating strike rate of 176.23. Rinku batted in the lower-order and chipped in with cameos in the death overs. He has a scoring rate of 226.4 in the last 4 overs! Rinku's best performance came against South Africa at Port Elizabeth where he blasted an unbeaten 68 off just 39 deliveries. He also smashed six sixes in his 39-ball undefeated 69 against Afghanistan in Bengaluru in January this year. Although he had created a name for himself in domestic cricket, Rinku really rose to prominence in IPL 2023, where he clobbered 474 runs at a strike rate of close to 150 and was the leading run-getter for Kolkata Knight Riders.
2. ABHISHEK SHARMA
Abhishek Sharma led a mini-revolution at the top of the order for Sunrisers Hyderabad in this season of the IPL hammering 484 runs in 16 innings at a mind-boggling strike rate of 204.21 – the second-highest in the tournament (min. 200 runs) after Jake Fraser-McGurk! In fact, it was the third-highest scoring rate for any batter who has scored a minimum of 300 runs in any season after Fraser-McGurk (234.04 in 2024) and Andre Russell (204.81 in 2019)! Abhishek combined with Travis Head and annihilated opposition bowlers in a tournament which witnessed record-breaking scores in the powerplay, all-time high team totals and sixes galore! Abhishek continued his form from the IPL to international T20 cricket where he smashed a 46-ball hundred in just his second appearance for India against Zimbabwe in Harare in July this year.
3. SURYAKUMAR YADAV
The Mr 360 degrees, Suryakumar Yadav (SKY) is perhaps the most complete batter in T20I cricket history with an aggregate of 2432 runs in just 68 innings at an average of 42.66 and strike rate of 168.65. Only Mohammad Rizwan and Virat Kohli have a higher batting average than SKY in the format whereas no batter has a higher scoring rate than him (min. 1000 runs)! SKY has recorded four hundreds in the format which are the second-most after Glenn Maxwell and Rohit Sharma who have five tons each. SKY is unconventional, unorthodox and daring and his range of strokes make him one of the most difficult batters to bowl to in T20 cricket. He is a big match-winner for the country - India has won 19 of the 24 matches in which SKY has crossed 50.
4. RIYAN PARAG
Riyan Parag finally lived up to his billing and talent and showcased his prowess with the bat in this season's IPL where he piled on 573 runs in 14 innings at an average of just over 52 and strike rate of 149.2! Parag produced six high impact performances during the tournament and was the leading run-getter for Rajasthan Royals (and the third-highest overall) after Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Parag had a career-changing season for Assam in the 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he slammed 510 runs in just 10 innings at a stunning strike rate of 182.79 – he was the leading run-getter of the season and took Assam to the semi-finals of India's most prestigious domestic T20 tournament.
5. RAVI BISHNOI
Ravi Bishnoi greatest quality in T20 cricket is his wicket-taking propensity. He has picked 48 wickets in 32 outings for India at an average of 18.95. His strike rate of 15.5 is the third-best for an Indian bowler (min. 40 wickets) after Kuldeep Yadav (12.4) and Arshdeep Singh (13.4). Bishnoi was amongst the wickets in India's last T20I assignment – against Sri Lanka in July where he returned with six wickets including a Player of the Match performance in the second match of the series (3-26 in 4 overs). Bishnoi is much more effective against right-handers (in comparison to left-handers) and has dismissed 38 RHB at an average of 15.84 and strike rate of 13.68.