Former India captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his preference for the leg-spinner position in the Indian team for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. He advocated for Ravi Bishnoi's inclusion over Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, citing Bishnoi's superior fielding skills.
With the T20 World Cup 2024 approaching, set to take place in June in the USA and the Caribbean, all eyes are on the Indian squad, a top contender for the title. However, the team faces several critical decisions, notably the selection of their spinner. The squad features players like Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel.
Gavaskar while speaking to Star Sports emphasised his preference for Bishnoi, highlighting his valuable batting abilities lower down the order beside being a good fielder.
“Ravi Bishnoi for me because apart from bowling, he is a very good fielder. He is a better fielder than Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. He can bat as well, the way he applied his brains and won his side the match with his calmness in the last IPL. I feel he and Avesh Khan had won their side the match against RCB. So Ravi Bishnoi for me," Gavaskar said.
Bishnoi has delivered remarkable performances in T20Is for India, securing 34 wickets with an impressive economy rate of just over seven, and has recently climbed to the top of the rankings. Kuldeep, meanwhile, has made a notable impact with his bowling in the T20Is against South Africa.
Both Bishnoi and Yadav have been selected for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan. In contrast, Chahal has been out of action but will be closely watched during the IPL. The decision on who will be part of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2024 is still pending.
During a discussion that included Gavaskar, Irfan Pathan was also present and was asked to choose between Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan. The former fast bowler gave his preference to the left-arm pacer, singling him out as the leading choice among the trio.
“Arshdeep Singh is far ahead. He has not performed as well in T20 cricket as we were expecting for sure but he performed very well in ODI cricket on the South African tour. It will be easy for him to carry that confidence into T20 cricket based on his skills,” Pathan said.
Pathan also mentioned that the IPL will play a crucial role for players like Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan, elaborating on this point by explaining,"The IPL will be extremely important but among these three, I feel Arshdeep Singh is ahead at the moment. Mukesh and Avesh have the skills, but being a left-armer who can bowl with the new ball and yorkers with the old ball, Arshdeep brings different skills that are needed in a team.”
Arshdeep, Mukesh, and Avesh have been included in India's squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.
India’s T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
Afghanistan’s T20I squad: Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib.
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