India playing XI vs NZ: Ashwin In Bhuvneshwar Out? – India skipper Virat Kohli will have to take a tough decision regarding their bowling department ahead of India vs New Zealand. All the bowlers failed to perform against Pakistan while out-of-form Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued his lean patch. His poor show has opened an opportunity for India spin maestro R Ashwin who is likely to play his first crucial T20I after a gap of 4 years (barring warmup fixture). The latter is expected to play as the third spinner beside Varun Chakaravarthy and R Jadeja. Follow T20 World Cup live updates on insidesport.in and live streaming on Star Sports, Hotstar
India playing XI vs NZ: Ashwin’s 4-year wait likely to end as off-colour Bhuvneshwar Kumar set to be dropped for NZ clash
Why Bhuvneshwar Kumar could be dropped?
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar has looked completely off-colour in the last 3 matches for India. His ability to pick up wickets seems to have faded away.
- Vs Pakistan: 0/25, Vs Australia: 1/27, Vs England: 0/54
- The seamer entered the T20 World Cup with just three wickets under his belt in 6 matches during the UAE leg of IPL 2021.
- He had last performed during a T20I match where he ended up with 4 wickets against Sri Lanka in July.
- The 31-year-old’s failure has made R Ashwin clear favourites to return to India playing XI.
Speaking about Bhuvneshwar Kumar, legendary Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Tak: “You can think of Shardul Thakur in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But otherwise, if you make too many changes, then you will show the opposition that you have panicked.”
India playing XI vs NZ: Ashwin’s 4-year wait likely to end
- R Ashwin returned with 2/8 against Australia during the second warmup match for India.
- He has taken record 52 wickets against Kiwis in 7 Tests. He is expected to trouble New Zealand with his spin web with game 1 in T20 World Cup
- He captained the Punjab team in the IPL in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, bagging 10 and 15 wickets respectively. He shifted base to Delhi Capitals in 2020 and picked up 13 wickets at an average of 30.07 and an economy of 7.66 in his first season for the side.
- In IPL 2021, he returned with 7 wickets in 13 matches at an economy rate of 7.41.
- Virat Kohli backed his experience to make an impact in the tournament.
“The one thing Ashwin has improved on is his bowling with courage. You have seen in the IPL over the last two years that he has bowled the difficult overs against the biggest hitters. He has not been shy to put the ball in the right areas, Ashwin has believed in his skillset. And we felt the way he was bowling with variations, he is a guy who has played a lot of international cricket,” Kohli told as quoted by ANI.
India playing XI vs NZ: Ashwin’s 4-year wait likely to end as off-colour Bhuvneshwar Kumar set to be dropped for NZ clash
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