India will face Australia at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart, on Sunday, November 2, after the hosts convincingly defeated India by 4 wickets at the MCG.
In India's respite, Josh Hazlewood will miss the rest of the series, as he prepares for the Ashes after troubling the Indian batters throughout the white-ball tour.
From India's perspective, the conversation has been around the use of Arshdeep Singh, who did not play the first two T20Is. So far, India has gone with the combination of two pacers and three spinners, with Harshit Rana getting preference due to his batting prowess.
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As India heads to Hobart, a former India opener Aakash Chopra has backed the return of Arshdeep into the XI in place of a spinner.
Aakash Chopra backs Arshdeep Singh's return to the XI in IND vs AUS 3rd T20I
During the build-up of the match, Chopra cited the cold and windy conditions in Hobart and felt India needs to tweak the combination and play three fast bowlers and two spinners.
While all-rounder Axar Patel is a sure-shot starter, Chopra felt India should go with Varun Chakravarthy, who is currently the number 1 bowler in T20Is and troubled the batters at MCG.
"India is playing here [in Hobart] for the first time and Australia has never lost here. I played a game in Hobart, so I know it is cold there. It is a sneaky town and very windy and chilly," he revealed on his YouTube channel.
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"The dimensions of the venue are not too big. So, there will be a lot of help for the pacers, like any other venue in Australia at this time of the summer. That brings me to the question, please play Arshdeep. Play three pacers despite the temptation of playing both Kuldeep and Varun," he added.
As things stand, Arshdeep is India's highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket and the only Indian with over 100 scalps in the format.
He has also shown how crucial he is to this team during the T20 World Cup win in 2024, bowling the penultimate over of the final.
According to Chopra, India needs to go with Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel in the bowling attack.
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