Kuldeep Yadav can come in to provide that extra bit of wicket-taking flair: Stephen Fleming on India’s final XI for Super 8

Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming reckons India could bring in Kuldeep Yadav in their playing XI against Afghanistan to provide themselves extra bit of wicket-taking flair. Kuldeep bagged 16 wickets in 11 matches in Indian Premier League 2024 while playing for Delhi Capitals.

However, the wrist spinner is yet to play a single match in the ongoing T20 World Cup as Rohit Sharma has backed the all-rounder duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.

There is no doubt that Yadav can provide a wicket-taking option in the middle overs and he could be lethal in spin-friendly West Indies conditions.

Stephen Fleming said on ESPN Cricinfo as quoted by PTI, “I would think maybe Kuldeep would come in to provide that extra bit of wicket-taking flair if the wickets do provide the turn as they get a little bit more used and you get closer to the end of the tournament.

“But they’ve still got that opportunity now to do both which is good and horses for courses, you can’t be so set in one way of playing that you miss the opportunities to take advantage of conditions,” Fleming went on to add.

Meanwhile, many experts shared their surprise as Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja have been part of the team’s playing XI despite being similar kinds of bowlers. However, Fleming said they could part of the final XI as Mitchell Santner and Ravindra Jadeja play the same role for CSK.

“Mitchell Santner and Jadeja sort of do the same role for us in CSK and we sometimes find it hard around selection to get eight overs of exactly the same skill set, they are different bowlers, they bowl differently but both of them when conditions are right can be a real handful,” the Kiwi legend said.

“So with their all-round skills and their batting skills it allows India to try that and Jadeja in the right conditions can be incredibly dangerous which we’ve seen over many years, as Axar can provide a different type of attack where conditions are slightly different like in New York,” he added.

India will begin their Super 8 campaign against Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday.