Former India spinner Sunil Joshi has given his verdict regarding who should be in India’s 15-member squad for ODI World Cup 2023 between Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. Notably, India will host the upcoming edition of the global showpiece event, and spinners will undoubtedly play a huge role, but the team needs to find the right combination with quite a few options.
Speaking about Kuldeep and Yuzi, both spinners are in an opposite state at the moment regarding their forms. Kuldeep, with his back-to-back match-winning performances, has found his mojo again. He has shown huge improvements right from his action, accuracy and variation. On the other hand, Chahal seems to have lost his rhythm. Once a consistent wicket-taker in the limited-overs format, Chahal has been struggling for a while and has benched more often in the recent past.
There is no doubt that the selection committee will face a challenge in terms of giving preference to whom between the spin duo as other tweakers – Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar – are also prime contenders to get a place in the World Cup squad. But Joshi, who was part of the Indian selection panel between 2020 and 2022 and has followed both Kuldeep and Chahal’s careers closely, went with the left-arm chinaman as his pick.
Joshi was recently asked in an interview on ESPNcricinfo if he would pick Kuldeep in India’s World Cup squad. Responding to the question, the former India tweaker said: “Absolutely, we are talking about seven-eight months from now. Kuldeep is in a space where he is absolutely fine. He needs to be more consistent. He needs to be looking at the tactical part. He needs to know how he will approach each team and venue. The World Cup is in India, but every venue has a different dimension in terms of pitch, soil and climate. He has to prepare himself accordingly.”
Joshi was then quizzed if he would go with Yuzvendra in the 15-member India squad. The ex-India cricketer immediately denied stating he has Jadeja in the mix and other spinners such as Axar, Washington as well as Ravi Bishnoi. Joshi reckoned the young Bishnoi has a quicker arm-action than Yuzi and is also a better fielder.
“No. Given the options I have at this point in time, Jadeja will be in my squad. If he is not in a good rhythm, you have a back-up in Axar. Then probably I would look at Washy [Washington Sundar] or Ravi Bishnoi if I have to have one more legspinner because Bishnoi is more consistent and has a quicker arm action, and he’s a better fielder than Chahal,” Joshi explained.