Veteran Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal may have not got a chance to play in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 but he is keeping the spirits high in the dressing room. As Team India headed to St Lucia for their last Super 8 encounter against Australia, Chahal turned a typical bus conductor saying “ground, ground, ground…”. He had his hand outside the window and tapped on the bus.
Chahal was in fine form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He is India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is but spin all-rounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja alongside Kuldeep Yadav have been preferred over him.
Will India play with four spinners together?
On the eve of the match against Australia, India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey was asked whether he would consider playing with four spinners.
"It all depends on what surface - I hope the surface won't be that spinner friendly I think going in yes three spinners, I think just add the balance but I'm not very sure all the other venues - in case, I'm saying I don't look like the surface is going to be that dry and going to turn so much but yeah if the surface is like that, there's a lot of wear and tear in the wicket yeah for a spinner if you think that's the best option you want to go and enter the game, you might as well go with it," Mhambrey said in the pre-match press conference.
Siraj in for Kuldeep?
As per the pitch curator at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, St Lucia, including an extra pacer might be a good option. Kuldeep replaced Mohammed Siraj in the Super 8 matches. It will be interesting to see whether Rohit Sharma sticks with the left-arm chinaman or includes Siraj in the side.
"It gets drier in a day game when the sun is out, it would be a good game tomorrow. Here we don't get much spin. We get nice bounce but not a lot of spin on this black soil pitch. I would play an extra pacer. The surface is more suited to the pacers and has consistent pace and bounce. Bowlers will need to bowl well else they get punished," a member of the groundstaff told PTI.
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