On Tuesday (February 24), the Indian team arrived at Chepauk for their first training session ahead of the must-win clash against Zimbabwe on Thursday (February 26). The defending champions are stinging after the 76-run hammering that they suffered against South Africa in Ahmedabad, a result that has their title defence hanging by the thread.
As is the case with big defeats, changes are inevitable for India. Of course, it is too early to press the panic button but there are some tactical alterations that India are likely to do for the Zimbabwe clash. Vice-captain Axar Patel, who was benched for the last two games, is all set to return in place of Washington Sundar in what is a like-for-like replacement.
Axar's return is inevitable, especially after the tactical move to play Sundar misfired against South Africa. The bigger selection call, however, is regarding Sanju Samson. The Kerala batter got a game against Namibia due to Abhishek Sharma's illness but returned to the sidelines as soon as the left-hander recovered from his illness.
Abhishek's form hasn't been great with three ducks and a 15 from four innings but his track record makes it imperative for India to back him through his rough patch. The same, however, cannot be said for Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh. Both southpaws have failed to deliver, more so Varma but his Asia Cup 2025 final heroics should help him keep his spot for now.
Rinku has also failed but then, he has barely gotten game time and generally been batting outside his designated finisher role. One of them will make way for Samson as the think tank looks to reduce the left-handedness of their batting unit. Rinku wasn't part of India's first training session and it is a hint that the UP batter might make way for Samson in this do-or-die clash.
From the batting order's point of view, Samson for Varma would have been the ideal fit as it would allow the others to continue at their respective batting positions. However, if Rinku sits out, as is being speculated, then the batting order will get a major overhaul and we might see a lot of floating options in the order.
