Gill shows T20I skills, Hardik stars in new role, but Kishan fizzles out
India's takeaways from their home T20I series wins against Sri Lanka and New Zealand
Shubman Gill shows off his T20 skills
T20 was considered to be Shubman Gill's weakest format, and there were questions about his place as an opener, considering the explosive Prithvi Shaw was waiting on the bench. In his first five T20Is of 2023, Gill had scored only 76 runs, but in the series decider against New Zealand in Ahmedabad , he showed the world he could excel in the shortest format as well.Hardik Pandya's new (ball) role
Captain. Anchor. MS Dhoni-like finisher. Middle-overs enforcer with the ball. Hardik has juggled and aced different roles in T20 cricket of late. Now, in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, he took the new ball in all six T20Is against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.Rahul Tripathi tees off
In the third T20I against New Zealand, Rahul Tripathi, like Gill, also scored at two runs a ball, smashing 44 off 22 balls. But it was Tripathi's early aggression that gave Gill the freedom to pace his innings. He fearlessly and selflessly hit the ball over the top - both in front of the wicket and behind it in the powerplay - like he usually does in the IPL. Tripathi's attacking intent and innovative strokeplay was also on show during his 16-ball 35 against Sri Lanka in Rajkot last month. Head coach Rahul Dravid recently suggested that India haven't moved on yet from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in T20Is, and that the two are just taking a break. But with a little more consistency, Tripathi will present a strong case to be a T20I regular - with or without the seniors.Kuldeep ahead of Chahal?
Here we go again. Kuldeep Yadav didn't play the T20Is against Sri Lanka, but he grabbed his chance against New Zealand: taking two wickets in nine overs at an economy rate of 5.44. If India's recent white-ball games are an indicator, then Kuldeep seems to have edged ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal as India's first-choice wristspinner.Washington Sundar's white-ball potential
In the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, Washington Sundar took his chance - both with ball and bat - against New Zealand. He was benched for the T20Is against Sri Lanka and only had a peripheral role to play in the following ODI series against New Zealand, but he played a crucial hand in India winning the T20I series. According to ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats, Washington with 168 points was the MVP of the series, ahead of even Gill (162.8).Ishan Kishan's form fizzles out
In the absence of KL Rahul, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan had a golden opportunity to enhance his claim to be India's first-choice T20I wicketkeeper. It was only in December that he had smashed the fastest double-century in ODI cricket, but since then his returns have plummeted. In the T20I series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, Kishan's struggles against spin were evident: he managed just 29 runs off 43 balls against spinners while getting out three times. In all, he tallied 64 runs across six innings at a strike rate of 84.21. With India searching for an opener who can give them blazing starts, Kishan's performance may force them to look elsewhere.Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo