Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has reckoned that the veteran wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav should be a part of the playing XI for the first T20I against the West Indies in Lucknow.
Speaking on Cricinfo, Chopra asserted that Varun Chakravarthy, who is currently injured, is the only one who can replace Kuldeep in the T20I squad at the moment. Interestingly, Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep have been named as frontline spinners in Charkavarthy’s absence.
“If there is Kuldeep Yadav in the squad, there’s only one guy who can actually displace him as a spinner. That’s Varun Chakravarthy. Varun is not there. He’s injured. He’s not available, so Kuldeep Yadav plays,” Chopra said on Cricinfo.
Further, Chopra backed Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav to get maximum chances in the five-match T20I series, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday, October 6 in Lucknow.
“In the Asian Games, he was almost like a tourist. Conditions were such. So now, he’s back. He needs to play,” Chopra added.
“If you want extra pace, go to Mayank. If you want continuity, again he played in Zimbabwe. So that’s Mayank Yadav. Raw pace will always excite you. But Prince Yadav, whenever he’s played, however little he has played, he’s been very impressive. So five games, three for one, two for the other. I mean just find your way,” he concluded.
While Arshdeep scalped 140 wickets in 94 T20Is at an economy of 8.51, Mayank has picked up nine wickets in six T20Is at an economy of 6.73. On the other hand, Prince has nine wickets in six T20Is at an economy of 8.31.
India’s updated T20I squad: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Sanju Samson [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir
