Sanju Samson to stay benched?

India cricket team will be aiming to go 2-1 up in the series as they take on Australia in the IND vs AUS 4th T20I on Thursday. India bounced back with a 5-wicket win in Hobart after losing in Melbourne and the first T20I in Canberra being washed out. While Suryakumar Yadav and co. made three changes to their playing XI for the previous game, they are likely to largely stick with the same line-up for the game in Gold Coast and make minor changes.

Predicted India playing XI for IND vs AUS 4th T20I

Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
On bench: Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube

After being benched in the previous game, Rana could return to the playing XI in the IND vs AUS 4th T20I. He could possibly replace Dube, who was quite expensive with the ball in the 3rd T20I, having conceded 43 runs and picked just one wicket. He was unused with the bat as well. Given Gambhir’s obsession with all-rounders, it is highly unlikely that Dube could be benched to pave way for Rinku Singh in the XI. Rana, who showed glimpses of his ability to bat in the middle-order in Melbourne, could fill in effectively for Dube.

Sanju Samson is likely to continue to warm the bench as India would want to give Jitesh another game. Playing his first T20I since January 2024 in Hobart, the keeper-batter aced his role as a finisher to perfection. He hammered 22 runs off 13 deliveries to help India get across the line in the IND vs AUS 3rd T20I.

India will persist with the spinner trio of Axar-Chakravarthy-Washington. It remains to be seen if Suryakumar Yadav will use Sundar with the ball after not giving him even a single over in the previous game. India’s leading wicket-getter in T20Is – Arshdeep – along with Bumrah and Rana will comprise of the pace unit.