After a sorry outing versus Pakistan, Varun Chakravarthy might have to make way for senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin against New Zealand, former Team India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has said.
Speaking on Star Sports, he said, “Varun Chakravarthy’s recent performances in UAE. He was very effective at Sharjah, but not in Dubai - where this game will be played. Taking into account the importance of the game, the number of matches played by Varun Chakravarthy is a little less, and his international experience is a little less. For a game of this significance, you would definitely want somebody with temperament and experience. So, in my opinion, Ravichandran Ashwin may get the nod in place of Varun Chakravarthy.”
In what is being touted as a virtual quarter-final, Kohli and company will have to win this match to stay alive at the mega event.
Virat Kohli will be facing the most defining test of his captaincy career as he expects his men to be the proverbial "phoenix rising from the ashes" when India take on a street-smart New Zealand in a 'do-or-die' clash.
Having endured a nightmare last Sunday against Pakistan, a match that they would like to forget in a hurry, India have a lot of course correction to do against the Kiwis, more so in getting the roles assigned for the players right.
It wont be easy against a quality New Zealand, which will come hard at India having also lost to Pakistan in their opening game. Tim Southee and Trent Boult, especially have been a nemesis for the Indians in big games.
Teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Rahul Chahar
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (wk), James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Kyle Jamieson, Todd Astle.
Match Starts at 7:30 pm IST.
