Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has asked Virat Kohli to bring back Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in India’s limited-overs squad. Both the wrist-spinners were not part of the T20I squad which faced off against West Indies and South Africa as the management aimed to add more depth to the batting order. Ganguly has now expressed hope that the exclusion of Chahal and Kuldeep was just temporary, and said it was important both players play a part in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020.
“This is a good team but Virat needs to bring back the wrist spinners into this format,” Ganguly wrote in his column for Times of India. “I hope Yuzvendra Chahal has only been rested to give opportunity to others, or else he is a must for India in the T20 format.
“India doesn’t need two left-arm spinners [Ravindra Jadeja and Krunal Pandya]. The test series will start soon, and hopefully, India will play on good pitches and not rank turners, as it has been in the last series because India is very good team on any surface.”
India’s performance in the T20Is has been far from impressive this year and despite the many changes made to the squad, the results have not been very consistent. However, Ganguly is not too bothered with the results but believed that the captain should take a hard look at how he handles his resources.
“The T20 World Cup is in Australia next year and opinions and judgments will be passed. The key person amidst all this will be Virat Kohli, and it will be important for him to stay calm for a long period of time,” Ganguly said.
Ahead of the home season against South Africa, Indian captain Virat Kohli had informed that they were looking to extend the batting line up in T20Is and hence, went in with spinners who could also wield their willow lower down the order.
“The increased depth in batting was one of the reasons why Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were excluded. Also, we wanted to give opportunities to the guys who have done well over the last couple of years in domestic cricket and in IPL. It is about finding the best balance in the combination and not just sticking to only one combination,” Kohli said.
WhatsApp us