Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Kuldeep Yadav‘s outstanding performance in the last Twenty20 international against the West Indies has exacerbated the difficulties that Team India is having in deciding who would be Yuzvendra Chahal’s spin-bowling partner.
In the sixth Twenty20 international match against the Windies, which took place on August 7 in Lauderhill, Florida, Kuldeep finished with bowling stats of 3/12 in his four overs. In the match, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel showed out with the ball, taking four and three wickets, respectively. Axar Patel was also a standout fielder.
Kuldeep Yadav picked up 3/15 on his return in T20I.
#KuldeepYadav #INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/gAwT6NkhiC— CRICKET VIDEOS🏏 (@Abdullah__Neaz) August 7, 2022
What did Sanjay Manjrekar say?
Manjrekar was asked this question during a discussion on the Sports 18 programme titled “Sports Over the Top.” The host wanted to know whether or not the Men in Blue had made any progress in determining who would bowl with Chahal in the spin bowling department.
In response, he said: “This is the challenge that arises when you taste every dish and find that every recipe is fantastic; deciding which one to use is difficult since they are all outstanding. When possibilities presented themselves to Ashwin, he made the most of them and had a nice time. Because of his performance, Kuldeep Yadav has caused them further difficulties.”
Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav picked 4/16 and 3/15 each. Brilliant performance by Indian spinners tonight, they dominated the West Indies.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 7, 2022
On the other hand, Manjrekar believes that it is quite improbable for Chahal and Kuldeep to be included in the same playing XI for the Twenty20 World Cup. The former Indian BATTER offered his reasoning as follows:
“This man (Kuldeep) has made quite a return, and now he joins the conversation. My position has not changed, and I continue to believe that India will not play Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal together in the playing XI at the Twenty20 World Cup. They would be looking for a spinner who has some control, which is where Axar Patel and Ashwin come into play.”
It might be argued that Ravi Bishnoi is now in a better position than Kuldeep to perform as a wrist spinner in the current competition. In the Indian team for the forthcoming Asia Cup 2022, the left-arm wrist-spinner who plays for the Delhi Capitals has been passed over in favor of the bowler who plays for the Lucknow Super Giants.
Ravindra Jadeja has been selected for the Asia Cup, which means that Axar will only be participating in the tournament as a reserve player. It is quite unlikely that the spin-bowling all-rounder for the Delhi Capitals would be deemed a suitable substitute for Jadeja unless and until such a scenario actually occurs.
