T20 World Cup 2022: Does India need a specialist left-hander in the top order?

However, there remains a school of thought that they might need a left-hander in the playing XI if they are to give their batting some variety. 

As things stand, the team has only one left-hander on Axar Patel's side. Rishabh Pant might have featured somewhere, but he's lost his place to Dinesh Karthik due to poor form with the bat.

Axar doesn't offer the same solidity level with the bat as Jadeja does. Jadeja was trusted by team management to be a floater if needed. 

Indeed, against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, his promotion atop the order threw Pakistan's plans awry, and they were forced not to bowl Mohammad Nawaz till the end, a decision that cost them the match. 

But with Axar, his batting needs to be more multidimensional to be used as a floater. He is best suited to a lower-order role that limits India to a great extent; due to this, the top 6 of India are all right-handers.

There is a school of thought that Rishabh Pant could be played in the team in place of KL Rahul due to the poor form of the latter. 

It is only a suggestion with merit; KL's failed in two matches now, and his form before the T20 World Cup didn't inspire all that much confidence, to begin with. 

Plus, Pant himself can be used as a floater. Whether he has to be played as a literal replacement for KL atop the order – a role he's played before – or as a middle-order floater, he would give India options. 

However, the drawback to this idea is obvious – Pant has been woefully out of form in T20 cricket lately, and there's a reason he lost his spot in the first place. 

There are plenty of benefits to playing Pant over DK; not only is the former a left-hander, but he's also a better and more agile wicketkeeper. 

DK has his moments but has slowed down due to age, and that's not entirely in his control; Father Time waits for no one, after all, even a cricketer as fit as him. 

Despite that, he finds himself in the team ahead of Pant. And it would need something drastic to change that as things stand. 

So the issue for India isn't just that they need a left-hander. They need viable options to fill that role in the current squad of 15. 

And therein lies the problem. India could use another left-hander in the playing XI as it adds variety to the batting line-up. 

But, if there are no top-notch options available, India is likely wise to stick to their current playing combinations.