When the Indian cricket team announced their 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup, everyone thought that they were taking one extra spinner. With no idea how the pitches would play in America, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid thought it’d be best to select a side thinking of the Super 8 rather than the Group Stage.
The move turned out to be a masterstroke. The pacers performed incredibly well in New York, and spinners made do with whatever assistance they got. But that meant that come the Super 8, India would have a bowling line-up that was best suited for the West Indies.
Kul-Cha to play alonside Axar-Jadeja?
Ravindra Jadeja, India’s ace all-rounder, has confirmed that thought process. With Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal in the squad, Jadeja spoke about how the pitch is expected to play in the India vs Afghanistan match at the Kensington Oval on June 20. He also hinted that spin will such a big factor that we might see Kuldeep bowl in the death ahead of someone like Arshdeep Singh.
“Whenever we play in the West Indies, the wicket remains a bit slow and dry. The match timing is also in the morning, so spinners will have help. Even in India, there are many wickets where spinners get help. So it is a good thing that spinners will get help here in the middle overs. You could see spinners being used in the death overs as well,” said Jadeja while talking with Star Sports.
India’s Predicted XI vs Afghanistan
Given what Jadeja said about the pitch, one could see India field at least three spinners in the IND vs AFG match. Axar and Jadeja have already been playing; now we might see Kuldeep come in as well. Of course, if India feels the pitch will turn square, they can even drop Arshdeep and bring in Chahal in his place, as they already have two proper pacers in Bumrah and Hardik, with Dube being a handy medium pacer as well.
Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.
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