3 changes India must make to beat England

• India trail England 2-0 after a heavy 125-run defeat at Trent Bridge
• Team needs two wins to level the series ahead of Bristol fourth T20I
• Suggested changes include Samson for Varma and Shedge for Axar Patel

India are currently on the verge of losing the five-match T20I series against England following their heavy 125-run loss at Trent Bridge in the third game.

The defending T20 champions are 2-0 down and need to win both of the remaining matches to level the series.

As things stand, there are more questions than answers for the Indian management as the tour moves to Bristol for the fourth T20I on Thursday, July 9. Shreyas Iyer's side, however, have a plethora of options on the bench, which allows them the flexibility to make changes for the final two matches of the series. 

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Here are the three changes India should make to register their maiden win on their tour to Europe:

3. Bring Suryansh Shedge in place of Axar Patel

Axar Patel had a relatively poor game with the ball last time around, going for 49 runs from his four overs. The spin-bowling all-rounder took the wicket of high-flying Phil Salt but then conceded two sixes to new batter Will Jacks in the same over. 

India need a seam-bowling all-rounder rather than a spinner for the next game, based on the conditions on offer at Bristol. Suryansh Shedge could be an ideal fit for the scenario. The 23-year-old made his international debut against Ireland and could play his first game of the series against England. Shedge is also much more handy with the bat, scoring at a strike-rate of 175.55 in the recently concluded Indian Premier League.

2. Do not bring pinch-hitters like Harshit Rana in the powerplay

During the third T20I in Nottingham, India promoted Harshit Rana up the order, using him as a pinch-hitter after losing five wickets inside the powerplay. However, the experiment did not work out as the visitors kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. 

Rana came ahead of Shivam Dube, which was a baffling decision, considering the Chennai Super Kings all-rounder is much more competent with the bat. Pinch-hitters are handy to have around when a team needs quick runs towards the end of the innings. However, using them as a stopgap during a batting collapse wasn't the wisest decision from the management.

1. Replace Tilak Varma with Sanju Samson in the playing XI

Sanju Samson lost his place in the side to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after a string of low scores in Ireland and in the opening game against England. Despite his underwhelming form of late, the wicketkeeper-batter is still one of India's best T20I batters, as seen during his 2026 T20 World Cup campaign.

Samson could come in and replace a struggling Tilak Varma in the side. The vice-captain has scored just 40 runs from the first three matches of the series and has looked lost in the middle order. In a little reshuffling, Samson would accommodate the number three slot, with both Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer moving to four and five, respectively, to strengthen the batting order.