The most sought-after match of the T20 World Cup 2021 between India and Pakistan is done and dusted. Pakistan shattered the Indian hoodoo of the World Cups by registering an emphatic victory in Dubai by ten wickets and 13 balls to spare.

The performance put by the Pakistan cricket team was so exceptional that they outplayed India in all departments. Shaheen Afridi ripped the Indian batting line-up apart before the Pakistani batters did the rest.

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India looked lacklustre with their game plans and the team combination raised a lot of eyebrows.

Let’s have a look at what changes Team India can make going into the match against New Zealand next Sunday.

Virat Kohli’s team need to address the elephant in the room as the first priority. The bowling services, or lack of it, of Hardik Pandya, is what Team India is missing dearly at this moment. They don’t have the luxury of having a sixth proper bowling option right now. Hardik’s form with the bat isn’t noteworthy either.

Hardik had a forgettable season with the bat in the Indian Premier League 2021, where he scored just 127 runs in 12 games. He scored 11 runs in 8 balls against Pakistan and failed to give the finishing touch with the bat.

Ishan Kishan, who is going through a red-hot form, can be included in the playing XI in place of him. If his knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last league game of IPL 2021 and versus England in the warm-up game is anything to go by, then Ishan can change things easily if given a chance in the playing XI.

The second headache for the Indian team management is Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s dry spell. The seasoned white-ball bowled neither enjoyed a great time in the IPL 2021 nor did his numbers change in the T20 World Cup 2021 as well.

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Shardul Thakur, who is going through an excellent phase, can be brought in as Bhuvi’s replacement in the playing XI. Shardul can easily bowl his full quota of overs – unlike Hardik – and can score a handful of runs with the bat. He was in excellent form with the ball during the recently-concluded IPL 2021 and was an integral cog in CSK’s title-winning campaign.

There is no fixed key-to-success in international cricket. The chopping and changing in the playing XI, too, can’t guarantee a win either. But if Team India doesn’t take the right steps going forward in the T20 World Cup, they will find themselves walking on a slippery surface. And T20 format is as fickle as it can get.

All is not lost for India. But they need to turn the tables against New Zealand – against whom they have never won in T20 WCs – the same way Pakistan did against them.