For India, the match against West Indies is a golden opportunity to bolster their chances of making it to the semi-finals. While Kohli and team have ticked all the boxes so far, West Indies are far more jittery and now, without Andre Russell, they will be up against it in this match.
However, for Virat Kohli, there are a few selection headaches ahead of the match. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was back in the nets and was going through his paces. Shami, who replaced him in the previous match against Afghanistan was spectacular, but Bhuvneshwar was the first-choice seamer for Kohli before he got injured. This spot will surely be debated. Will Shami be benched after his hat-trick, or will Bhuvneshwar get his spot back?
Pant or Vijay - Who will get a go?
Sachin Tendulkar has already said that India should stick with Bhuvneshwar, especially because he can trouble the stroke-makers of West Indies up front with his swing.
There is another cause of concern for India - and this is the perennial problem in the middle order. MS Dhoni was slow, painful, and bereft of any intent in the match against Afghanistan. This stalled India in the middle overs and this could prompt India to go in with Rishabh Pant for this match.
Pant can not only provide the left-hand option in the middle order but can inject momentum in the middle order, a phase which has become problematic for India in the recent past. This could mean, Vijay Shankar might miss out and it would be very unfair on the young man. He gives Kohli the option of 4-5 overs, is a brilliant fielder and looked assured during his brief stay against Afghanistan. But, team combinations could force India to make this change.
We take a look at the possible XI for India for this match:
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant/Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal.
For Virat Kohli, the rest of the team is sorted - Jasprit Bumrah is as consistent with the ball, the spinners have been amongst the wickets and the top order is prolific.
After the stutter against Afghanistan, the Indian team cannot afford to take West Indies lightly. A win here will make things easier for them, but if they end up slipping, the pressure will be amped on Kohli and team.
