India head coach Rahul Dravid has spoken about having an “open mind” in picking the XI for the semi-final against England at the Adelaide Oval but it’s unlikely that there will be any changes to the winning combination.

Rohit Sharma’s injury scare on Tuesday morning did lead to trepidations inside the dressing room but nerves were settled once the captain came out unscathed.

Sources have told The Telegraph that it is almost certain that Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel will retain their places in the knockout fixture.

Dinesh Karthik had an extended session on an optional training day leading to speculation that he might again get a look-in. He had been assigned the role of a finisher leading up to the World Cup but has failed miserably so far: 1 vs Pakistan at the MCG, 6 against South Africa in Perth and 7 vs Bangladesh in Adelaide.

In his lone appearance, against Zimbabwe, Pant managed 3 off 5 before being dismissed by Ryan Burl’s stunning effort in the deep. He had been given a specific role to target the left-arm spin of Sean Williams, who was threatening to make inroads after dismissing Virat Kohli.

The idea behind playing Pant was also to keep him ready for the semi-final where the likes of Adil Rashid will take the ball away from the right-handers. Promoting a left-hander in the batting order could help in breaking the monotony and disturbing the bowler’s line. India had previously tried to get a left-right combination going by pushing Axar Patel ahead in the league matches.

Rishabh Pant in the match against South Africa in Perth on October 30. Getty Images

The presence of off-spinner Moeen Ali in the England line-up does favour Karthik but it is unlikely that Pant will be dropped. Pant has the experience of playing attacking cricket in Australian conditions, is more flexible, and more importantly, possesses the big-match temperament.

However, promoting Pantup the order means, Hardik Pandya will have to drop toNo.6. The all-rounder is capable of performing multi-dimensional roles and could have to walk in and play a high-risk game towards the end of the innings.

The other talking point has been Yuzvendra Chahal’srecord against England. The 32-year-old leg spinner is the highest wicket-taker for India in the T20Is against England— 16 in 11 matches — with best figures of 6/25.

Axar has picked 3 wickets in 4 matches so far with an economy of over 9, the highest in the team. The Englishbatters’ perennial weakness against a wrist spinner led to calls for Chahal’s inclusion but the team management is against experimenting in a knockout fixture.

No cause for worry

Rohit was facing throwdowns from one of the specialists when he got hit on the forearm, looked in pain and had to retire. He though ended the session on a positive note with another hit at the nets. It was learnt that there was no cause for much concern though the medical team will keep a close watch on his injury.

Rohit later appeared relaxed and had a session with mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton.

Scratch head & find a way to stop Surya

Suryakumar Yadav during the ongoing T20 World Cup. Getty Images

Adelaide: Ben Stokes said England are aware of the threat an in-form Suryakumar Yadav poses for them in Thursday’s semi-final contest in Adelaide, but at the same time was confident that they can put a lid on the Indian’s stroke-making.

“Suryakumar obviously came in and set the world alight. He is a fantastic player and plays some shots where you are sort of just scratching the head sometimes.

“He is in great form, but, hopefully, we can try and shut him down and not allow him to get on one of his rampages,” the all-rounder said on Tuesday.

But SKY, as Suryakumar is fondly called, is not the only Indian England are worried about as Stokes said that Virat Kohli has “earned the right to be never written off”.

“I think with Virat, he could have four unbelievable years like he had, and then have a not-so-loud couple of months and then for some reason plays like that and gets written off, we have got no idea why. I think he has earned the right to never be written off.”

“We as players and people who play against him a lot, we never take anything he has done in the game before into the game we have got here,” said Stokes.

Asked if spin will play a big role in Adelaide under floodlights, Stokes said: “I am pretty sure it will but how big a role, I don’t know.”

Written with inputs from PTI