KL Rahul is out of form and he is struggling to bat and the same is with Virat Kohli. Hardik Pandya, Panth, and Hooda were a disaster again.
I disagree about Pandya. He was the game-changer in several matches in recent times.
What is your point here? The only game that he played well in this tournament was with Pakistan and after that, he has been a failure. I do not understand why anyone would support him for his past achievements. What India needed was to defend its title but unfortunately because of the middle and the lower middle order's pathetic performance they are not able to give the opposing team a stiff target.
After his back injury, he had to earn his place in the playing XI and he did in style so I think his name should be first on the roster when selecting the playing XI. Being on top of your game is an ongoing process and it's natural to face failure sometime but you have to look overall picture.
India didn't do anything wrong overall, all matches were close fights and it does happen in T-20 format. I won't even blame bowlers here as conditions in Dubai ridiculously favor the team bowling first. In the last 19 matches, only 2 times teams successfully defended the totals and the opponents were Netherland and Hongkong.
Having said that, it doesn't mean that there is no problem whatsoever. KL at the top, Pant in middle order looks the weakest point IMO, then there were some tactical calls from Rohit/Dravid like not bringing Hooda as 6th bowler or giving his fav position which is top 3.
KL and Pant are both talented individuals but both don't deserve their place in T-20 team at least their current batting order. KL clearly looks so much under pressure and just playing for his spot and it's freaking depressing to watch him struggle, less we talk about his SR the better ( seems like I time traveled back in the year 2018). I really love the Pant the batter but I guess he's not suitable for the Middle-order at all, if he's playing then he should open the inning for the team and give him license to go crazy, even if he fails. The same argument could be used for Shaw or another left-hander Kishan. It's not like that KL Rahul is an inferior batter but IMO he seriously lacks aggressive cricket in T-20 when batting at the top, he's an excellent bat at the middle order but IDK why everyone is hell-bent to make him open every time despite having 4-5 openers are warming the bench.
Hooda should bat at the top and considering his form, I dare to say even Kohli would look like a joke when Hooda is on the song. This dude has a SR of 150 + and an average of 40-ish. Management ruining his career by using him as a floater or finisher, leave this job to Hardik and DK (he's a must in WC).