Is fast-rising all-rounder Dhir the missing piece in India’s T20 puzzle?

In its T20I history, India has conceded 220-plus totals 10 times. Five of those have come this year, including two in the series against the West Indies that finished 2-2 after the fifth encounter was abandoned here on Saturday.

Remarkably, in the second T20I in Ranchi, West Indies chased down a gargantuan 250 with nine balls to spare as Shai Hope plundered 102 unbeaten runs from 45 deliveries. Hope scored another century in Hyderabad (102 n.o., 50b, 4x4, 9x6) as his wards ran up a mammoth 247 for thee and stopped India at 223.

This is without doubt a product of how batting has changed and how flat pitches have progressively become. But it is also a reflection of the quality of Indian bowling in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.

The maverick pacer has not played the last three times India has conceded 220 plus, and in the T20 World Cup semifinal, wherein England came within eight runs of chasing down 254, Bumrah’s economy rate was 8.25 from four overs.

“The series result could have definitely been different if we had bowled well in the second and the fourth games,” India skipper Shreyas Iyer admitted at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. “It’s the execution in which we were falling short. But credit where it’s due. They batted phenomenally,” he added.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s inclusion after a gap of nearly four years may be one way to plug this hole. But it is also a fact – as bowling coach Morne Morkel said on the eve of the Bengaluru fixture – that India has been a tad hasty in changing plans while bowling.

Morkel insisted that India would continue to be aggressive and retain their wicket-seeking mindset, but defensive bowling is an option they would do well to explore. Taking the ball away from the batters’ strike-zone and bowling wide yorkers are highly effective ways to stop belligerent batters.

The absence of pace-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya hasn’t helped. Nitish Kumar and Shivam Dube have tried to deputise, but as vice-captain Tilak Varma implied, they still cannot command a place with either skill.

A green shoot, however, is the rise of spin-bowling all-rounder Naman Dhir, who was a viable middle-overs option, and displayed a destructive streak through his rollicking six-ball unbeaten 24 in the Garden City.

In the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, India will again be without Bumrah. But it will have Bhuvneshwar and a confident Dhir. Will the puzzle fall into place?