At the T20 World Cup, can India's youngsters keep the big stars out?

The top players, who are giving the T20 series versus Aussies a miss, will invariably be in the fray for the marquee event in the Caribbean and USA

- Vivek Krishnan

Hard as bouncing back from defeat in a World Cup final is, the performances of India’s young brigade in the first two T20Is against Australia should provide some solace. Whether it is the lower order pyrotechnics of Rinku Singh, the explosive opening from Yashasvi Jaiswal or the growing stature of Tilak Varma in the middle order, what the series — never mind the absurdity of one so soon after a taxing ODI World Cup campaign — is establishing are the exciting options at India’s disposal going into next year’s T20 World Cup. With the calendar hurtling along at relentless pace, these matches may not register in the mind of the fatigued viewer, but the selectors and the team management will be taking note.

But to what extent? If Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad keep performing well in the opportunities presented, should they be preferred over Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill at the top of the order? Will Rinku and Varma find places in the middle order when Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul are also available for selection? How does leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who has taken four wickets in two matches, stack up against, say, Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal?

Discussions of this nature are bound to crop up when players in India’s second-string team come to the fore. Caveats are of course necessary – the Australians are also not fielding their first-choice eleven and the first two games of this series have been on flat decks suitable for belligerent strokeplay. But if Jaiswal, Gaikwad, Rinku and Varma – just to name a few in India’s vast talent pool -- are being considered capable of slotting into India’s strongest T20 team, it's because they have offered more than just flashes of their talent in recent months.