On paper, India have been quite careful about their batting depth in this T20I series against England. So far, they have gone in with eight batsmen in their XI and it seems the strategy will continue in the coming matches as well.

According to assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, it’s a “blueprint” of head coach Gautam Gambhir and this is how he likes to set up a team.

“You could argue that we don’t want Dhruv Jurel batting at No.8. But I also think if you look at the blueprint of any of Gambhir’s teams that he has coached since he has been coaching in T20 cricket, it is a big part of how he likes to set up,” Ten Doeschate said in Pune on Thursday, the eve of the fourth T20I.

The ploy, though, gives a little bit of cushion to the frontline batters, especially opener Sanju Samson who hasn’t looked too comfortable against the fast short-pitched stuff unleashed at him by Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.

One has to wait to see whether senior pacer Mohammed Shami remains in the XI on Friday or Arshdeep Singh returns. But the team management seems pleased with how Shami turned up on his India comeback in Rajkot.

“Regardless of how it went, he bowled well. Nice to see him build up in training again tonight (Thursday),” Ten Doeschate said.

Shami finished with 0/25 in three overs in the last game.