In the highly anticipated T20 World Cup match against archrivals Pakistan on Sunday, India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar anticipates that leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav would replace pacer Arshdeep Singh.
Even though the reigning champions won by 93 runs to continue their winning streak, Arshdeep took some beating from Namibia batsmen in Delhi on Thursday and also did not complete his full quota of four overs.
“All our bowlers picked up wickets. Arshdeep did not complete his four overs, while Shivam Dube bowled two and Hardik completed his quota. This hints that Kuldeep Yadav could replace Arshdeep against Pakistan. Sri Lanka pitches help spinners and India have history of playing three spinners. Expect Kuldeep in the eleven against Pakistan in Colombo,” PTI quoted Gavaskar as saying on Star Sports’ ‘Amul Cricket Live’.
He continued by saying that Suryakumar Yadav, the captain of India, adjusted his bowling strategy with the Pakistan match in mind.
“Hardik bowling the first over suggests Arshdeep may not play in the next match against Pakistan. Varun Chakaravarthy bowled only two overs and would have taken five or six wickets if he bowled his full four overs.
“The best part about Varun is that he gets wickets whenever he is asked to bowl. Axar Patel took two wickets in three overs, it’s a good sign.”
Gavaskar also described how Sanju Samson, who replaced an ailing Abhishek Sharma, is suffering from his deep crease movement. After hitting three sixes in an eight-ball 22, Samson was dismissed against Namibia.
“Sanju Samson has a technical problem. He goes too deep in the crease and plays that flick shot. You can only hope he times it in the gap or it goes for a six. He needs to make improvements, especially when he opens against the new ball.
“Namibia were clever with their field placements. They set a field to get Samson out. But it was good that he hit some nice shots. That must have given him some confidence. If he plays the next match against Pakistan, he needs to spend more time at the crease,” he said.
