'Very Tempted To Play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, But He Must Open': Abhishek Nayar Ahead Of India vs West Indies 5th T20I

Team India will take on the West Indies in the fifth and final T20I of the series, which is level at 2-2, as both teams gear up to clinch the series in the decider in Bengaluru. Speaking on JioHotstar's ‘Game Plan’, JioStar expert Abhishek Nayar discussed Sanju Samson's knock in the fourth T20I, West Indies captain Shai Hope's dream run in India, and the possible changes to India's playing XI.

Speaking on JioHotstar's 'Game Plan', JioStar expert Abhishek Nayar advised the Indian team not to panic after suffering a second loss in the T20I series:

"One thing you must keep in mind is that you don't have to panic just because you are losing. You also have to remember that you have already won two matches with this same team, so you want to keep things simple. It will be important that when you reach Bengaluru, you assess the conditions and understand them. The West Indies have batted well, and in the previous match, they bowled well too. But you have to find a way to get Shai Hope out. You have to find a way to stop the West Indies from scoring runs in the powerplay, and that's where the think tank comes together, plans, makes strategies, and puts all that together, then you can get the result you desire."

On Shai Hope's performance on the tour:

"After a long time, such a player has come to India, scoring runs, captaining, wicket-keeping as well, and consistently scoring runs with the bat. When he scores runs, the team wins, and that is the hallmark of a terrific and great player who scores runs and makes sure the team wins. He is using his craft and finesse as well as power, and that is one thing that Shai Hope has done brilliantly. When you are bowling at the stumps, it's been very easy for him to score runs, which means sometimes inconsistency is the best consistency to have against Shai Hope. That is something India will have to think about and come up with a plan as to how they are going to make sure that he starts playing more behind square and how they start using the short ball more against him."

On Sanju Samson's innings in the fourth T20I:

"In the beginning, it was a very good strategic call, with Sanju Samson taking the strike. After that, the way he was batting, it felt like he was setting himself up for a big one because he was in control. His base was good, along with control, and his head was steady. It felt like that dangerous Sanju was back in his rhythm in the last game. He will take this confidence into Bengaluru, and I feel this Indian team will be in a much better position because a lot of the batters are in form. It's only a matter of them delivering together. Yes, Abhishek Sharma wasn't in his greatest of flows, but Sanju Samson took over. That start, even though India didn't get that result, is invaluable because you could get close. So, you want to take that confidence going forward and say, if Sanju can bat for a few more overs, then in the next game, India will be sitting pretty in making sure they win the series 3-2."

On changes in India's playing XI for the decider:

"I think India are in a Catch-22 situation. I'll take a punt and try and go the Kuldeep Yadav way. So, I may replace Naman Dhir with Kuldeep Yadav and get Nitish and Axar one place up. Axar Patel has also played that role of a floater really well for Team India when he has been sent up. I am very tempted to play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. But are you going to play him out of position? If Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is playing, then he plays in his strongest position, which is opening. And if he is opening, then whoever is number three should also be playing in his strongest position. However tempted I may be to see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, that too in Bengaluru in such good conditions, I will make changes in the bowling, not in the batting at all."

Watch the fifth T20I of West Indies’ tour of India today, from 7 PM onwards, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network