Spin Friendly Conditions On Offer For India In T20 World Cup Super 8s, Will India Bring Kuldeep Yadav In Playing XI?

Bridgetown: Benched during the group stages in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, Kuldeep Yadav has come into the mix as the focus shifts to the Caribbean where spin-friendly conditions welcome India in the Super 8 stage against Afghanistan on Thursday. With the seamers getting more preference in the American leg, captain Rohit Sharma went with three specialist pacers and a fourth fast bowler in Hardik Pandya. The two finger spinners were Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja.

However, things will be different in the Caribbean. Rohit had already stressed on the use of four all-rounders (two pace and two spin) to balance the playing XI. Therefore, he is unlikely to compromise on that front. So the only way Kuldeep fits into the XI is if India decide to drop a third pacer.

The wristspinner was given special attention during India’s net session on Tuesday. He bowled at length to both Rohit and Virat Kohli. With head coach Rahul Dravid having an expert eye on him, the 29-year-old bowled to an imaginary field against Rohit. However, the Indian captain was beaten by Khaleel Ahmed on few occasions.

Unlike the other venues at this T20 World Cup, runs have come at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. Baring the Namibia vs Oman game and one washed out tie, teams have scored in excess of 150 on this ground. The highest at this ground came from Australia when they scored 200-plus against England.

Although it isn’t sure which strip will be used for the India vs Afghanistan game, but if the ball turns at the main square as much as it has been doing in the nets, drafting in Kuldeep seems like a no brainer. Having said that, one can never be sure about the pitch behaviour come game day.

“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.

Meanwhile, at training, Kohli had a long hit as majority of them being throwdowns before he moved to the adjacent net to face Kuldeep and Khaleel Ahmed. Kohli middled most of the balls against Kuldeep but missed out on a few from Khaleel, leaving him frustrated.

With Agency Inputs