If the two practice sessions and Kuldeep Yadav‘s performance in them hint at anything, India are likely to draft an extra spinner for the Afghanistan match. Kuldeep Yadav is likely to make his debut in the West Indies leg of the World cup where pitches are mostly like to suit his style of bowling. A team is unlikely to engage in tinkering with the playing XI after a winning streak, especially in a tournament like the World Cup.
However, with the conditions being vastly different in the Caribbeans, where the spinners have found more aid, than in New York, which was pace-friendly, there have been discussions among experts on whether India should bring in an extra spinner in the line-up for the impending match against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup Super Eight game in Barbados on June 20.
And from what the two practice sessions in the Kensington Oval have hinted is that left-arm leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav could make his first appearance in the ongoing ICC tournament.
Kuldeep Yadav’s performance in the nets impresses all
According to a report in the PTI, much like the opening practice session in Barbados on Monday, Kuldeep had yet another extended bowling session on Tuesday, where he bowled to both Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma, who focused on playing the slog sweep. Later, under the watchful eye of head coach Rahul Dravid, the chinaman Kuldeep Yadav bowled to Rohit with an imaginary field set and Kuldeep Yadav beat the India opener a few times at the start of the session.
If the two practice sessions and Kuldeep’s performance in them hint at anything, India are likely to draft an extra spinner for the match against Afghanistan, but the final call is likely to be taken on the day of the match. Not to forget, Australia had smashed 201 against England at this very venue earlier in the group stage of the tournament.
“The pitch should turn in the middle as well, may be not as much as it is doing in the nets but will definitely turn. The spinners have proved quite useful throughout the Caribbean thus far. I don’t think India will make any changes, they would not want to compromise on their batting,” said a former international who was present at the venue told PTI.
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming stated that Kuldeep Yadav could prove a vital cog in the Indian setup especially in the West Indian leg of the World Cup.
Stephen Fleming on Kuldeep Yadav’s role in India’s combination for Super 8 of 2024 T20 World Cup
Former New Zealand skipper and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming reckons that India should consider bringing Kuldeep Yadav into the playing XI for the Super 8 matches of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Fleming explained that there might be more spin on offer on West Indies surfaces as the tournament progresses and that India must look to take advantage of the same.
The Men in Blue went in with three pacers – Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh – and two spin-bowling all-rounders – Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel – in their playing XI for the group stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup. India won their first three group matches, while their last game against Canada was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
While Rohit Sharma and co. tasted success with the bowling combination they used in the group stage, Fleming reckons that India must be proactive and be willing to make changes if the conditions demand so. Speaking specifically about Kuldeep, he told ESPNCricinfo, as quoted as saying by PTI:
“I would think maybe Kuldeep would come in to provide that extra bit of wicket-taking flair if the wickets do provide the turn as they get a little bit more used and you get closer to the end of the tournament.
“But they’ve still got that opportunity now to do both which is good and horses for courses, you can’t be so set in one way of playing that you miss the opportunities to take advantage of conditions,” Fleming went on to add.
While Axar made some crucial contributions with the bat and the ball in the group stage, Jadeja is still to make an impact. He is yet to claim a wicket and scored a golden duck the only time he batted against Pakistan.
Stephen Fleming has no issues with Jadeja and Axar playing in the same XI
Even as he urged India to think hard about bringing Kuldeep into the scheme for things for the Super 8 round, Fleming backed the team’s decision to play both Axar and Jadeja in the same XI in the group stage. Some critics have opined that since both the all-rounders offer similar skillsets, India should play only one of them in the playing XI.
Giving the example of Mitchell Santner and Jadeja playing together for CSK, Fleming explained that bowlers with similar skill sets are still different bowlers.
“Mitchell Santner and Jadeja sort of do the same role for us in CSK and we sometimes find it hard around selection to get eight overs of exactly the same skill set, they are different bowlers, they bowl differently but both of them when conditions are right can be a real handful,” the Kiwi legend said.
“So with their all-round skills and their batting skills it allows India to try that and Jadeja in the right conditions can be incredibly dangerous which we’ve seen over many years, as Axar can provide a different type of attack where conditions are slightly different like in New York,” he added.
Meanwhile, having topped Group A in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Team India will begin their Super 8 campaign with a match against Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Thursday, June 20.