With a series win confirmed in their first series of the Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid era, India will look to complete a whitewash as they face New Zealand in the third T20I of the series. The final game of the series will take place at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens on Sunday evening. 

So far, India have used only 12 players in the series with four players in the 16-man squad who are yet to get a chance in the playing XI. With senior players like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah set to return for the series against South Africa, it remains to be seen if India uses their bench to see what they have to offer in this game. 

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has claimed that in-form players like KL Rahul and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will not want to rest for this game. 

In a column for Times of India, he wrote, “When a player is in form, he wants to capitalize on that and not let go of it, so KL Rahul, who has been splendid, would not want a break, neither will Bhuvaneshwar and Deepak Chahar, who have just returned to the team.”

However, he asserted that with first-choice players set to return, this is the right time to give the young players a chance in playing XI 

“So there are plenty of opportunities to try new talent. The big boys like Kohli, Bumrah rested for this series, will also be back for the South Africa series, so the chance to have a look at some of the young brigade is now, especially since the series has been won,” said Gavaskar. 

He added, “Eden Gardens has seen some spectacular debuts, including skipper Rohit Sharma’s Test debut, so don’t be surprised to see a couple of new faces in the final T20I,” 

Yuzvendra Chahal, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Ishan Kishan are the players who are yet to feature in the playing XI for India in this series. It is expected that senior players like KL Rahul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ravichandran Ashwin to make way for those players in Kolkata.