The final group-phase game against minnows Canada presented the Indian team management with an opportunity to try out a different combination as it was basically an inconsequential game. But a washout last Saturday at Lauderhill in Florida squashed such hopes.
The ongoing T20 World Cup will now be in its Super 8 phase with all the matches to be held in the Caribbean. Placed in Group 1, India begin their Super 8 journey against Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown on Thursday.
The pitches in the West Indies should be of some relief to the likes of skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav in particular, who are all known for their stroke-making ability and want the ball to come on to the bat. But in terms of bowling, should India carry on with three specialist quicks and the left-arm orthodox pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel as their two spinners?
Or, should India draft in another specialist spinner in their XI at the expense of a fast bowler? Talking of the Bridgetown pitch, one usually comes across a reasonably balanced surface that tends to slow down as the game progresses, meaning spinners will be having a role to play in the later stages.
Bridgetown has so far hosted five games in the ongoing T20 showpiece event with the Australia-England group-stage clash being the last fixture at the venue. Leg spinner Adam Zampa’s bowling, including his scalps of both Salt and Buttler, were crucial to Australia’s 36-run win in that game. Spin thus will be a factor on such a surface.
It wouldn’t be wrong for India to trust their winning combination and keep it intact. But the conditions in Bridgetown and the other venues in the Caribbean do bring a specialist spinner in the fray, Kuldeep Yadav in particular.
The chinaman bowler has decent numbers in T20Is in the Windies (five wickets from three matches at an economy rate of 6.83). His ability to turn the ball the other way, creating doubts in the minds of the batsmen over whether the ball will turn or go straight along with the quicker one certainly brings him into picture.
More importantly, Kuldeep has been bowling well and can strike at critical moments even on flat surfaces, which can change the complexion of a game. Including Kuldeep in place of Mohammed Siraj may appear a tad unfair on the pacer, but how does one drop left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh when he has been consistent and is also the joint highest wicket-taker (7) for India along with Hardik Pandya?
Pandya’s presence does give some sort of a cushion to the Jasprit Bumrah-led pace attack. So, it may not be totally unwise to pick Kuldeep in place of a specialist pacer.
