Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has suggested India to play wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the highly anticipated match against Pakistan at Colombo on Sunday. Yadav didn’t play in India’s opening T20 World Cup match against the USA.
The left-arm spinner recently scalped four wickets in three T20Is against New Zealand at an average of 26.50. Yadav has scalped 94 wickets in 53 T20I matches at an average of 13.74 and an economy rate of 6.99.
Pathan wants India to go with three spinners in the high-octane clash against Pakistan with Bumrah as the frontline pacer and Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya providing seam-bowling options.
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “What can India do against them? Look, in these conditions, from where I see it, India should play one more spinner. You already have Varun and Axar, but there is definitely a place for Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. It could mean that Bumrah plays, and alongside him Hardik and Shivam Dube handle the pace bowling, something we saw recently in the Asia Cup. The team might go back to that template, and in my opinion, they should.”
“It could be unfortunate for Siraj, who has performed very well, and also unfortunate for Arshdeep because of the combination. But you expect Hardik to bowl with the new ball, don’t you? Because you have the luxury of not just one but two or even three all-rounders, Axar and Shivam Dube. Dube has also bowled with the new ball. In my view, that’s what the Indian team should do. They should prepare accordingly,” he added.
Kuldeep has scalped eight wickets in three T20Is against Pakistan at an average of 9.87.
Pathan reckons India should play the same playing XI against Namibia as they are going to play against Pakistan.
“In fact, I also believe that they should field the same squad against Namibia that they plan to play against Pakistan. Because it’s very difficult if you go straight into a high-pressure game and play there in Sri Lanka. The conditions in Delhi and Sri Lanka are different.”
“Against Namibia, you can still afford to play the team you want to field against Pakistan, despite the fact that the conditions are very different. Of course, I’m not saying you should take Namibia lightly. Absolutely not. In cricket, you should never take any team lightly. But if India plays their A game, or even close to it, you would expect that Namibia will not be able to match them.”
India will next take on Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Thursday.
