India’s Predicted XI for 2019 World Cup: The Sportsrush take a dive into India’s spin-bowling options for the 2019 World Cup.
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As the Indian team looks to put its most exquisite foot forward in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, the main objective now is to put to bed a few issues. One of the biggest issues that will be prevalent in the Indian team management’s minds is the spin combination they’ll be looking to include in the playing XI.
Do they continue to persist with the two prolonged leg spinning formula of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal? Or is it time to shift the bed-lam and opt towards a more realistic approach in roping in the finger spinner Ravindra Jadeja into the setup? We take a look at which option would serve India most fruitfully when the world cup comes calling.
Yuzvendra Chahal
The Indian team management have reserved their faith in Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, two bowlers who’ve functioned well in unison. Their abilities to pick up wickets on a rapidly consistent basis has rescued India on several occasions.
In the lone match which Chahal played against Australia, he was torn apart for 80 runs, something that he’s continued in the IPL as well. The problem with Chahal has always been that while he has the ability to entice batsmen with the immense flight he likes to give on the ball, his inconsistency is a massive cause for concern.
The 28-year old cricketer bowls far too many wides, sends the ball down at the shorter length all too often, allowing batsmen to take a real liking to his brand of spin and rip into him. Without a fellow spinner operating economically at the other end, restricting runs for Chahal is an aberration, something he’s never been able to solve.
Kuldeep Yadav
For Kuldeep, while the stay in the national side was a time to relish, the IPL was one he’ll not like to remember either. Enduring a horrendous time in the league, Kuldeep went wicketless in 6 of the 9 matches he played in. The other 3 saw him pick up just 4 wickets at a torrid economy of 8.66, a howler of a performance that eventually saw him being dropped.
While Kuldeep cut a dismal and sordid figure in the league, poor management from his franchisee was a major reason for his waning bowling. There was no faith accorded in him and he was too easily deemed useless when things started going against him.
Yadav has shown that he’s someone who needs to be backed and guided regularly, one Dhoni and Kohli provide to him when he plays for India. His 10 wickets in 5 ODIs at home against Australia was a performance that saw India register wins in the first two matches and he’ll without a doubt make it to India’s playing XI.
ALSO READ: 5 reasons why Kuldeep Yadav hasn’t performed well for KKR in IPL 2019
Ravindra Jadeja
With many calling for Ravindra Jadeja’s selection in India’s 15-member squad, Jadeja was given a place and rightfully so. Over the past 6 months, he’s shown massive improvement in his bowling, working on it to no longer remain someone who just relies on speed to get wickets. While the skidding ball has been fruitful in crafting dismissals as it smashes into the batsmen off the pitch, Jadeja now shows an awareness to the game.
He is not afraid to slow the ball up and has been getting the ball to turn nicely as well, shaping across the batsmen to leave them quizzical on how to negotiate the trajectory. What makes Jadeja’s inclusion ever so necessary is the form he showed when India went to England in the test series.
Those were pitches on where he troubled batsmen up to no end, leaving them jittery as they faced him. It was a performance he carried forward in Australia as well and his this awareness of overseas pitches sees him pip Chahal. The southpaw is a safe bet for 10 overs and more importantly brings to the side an extremely important filler in the lower middle-order.
Who out of Chahal, Kuldeep and Jadeja should be India’s spin combination?
Furthermore, with India’s middle-order by far shaky at best, Jadeja provides the much required stability down the order. He can hang around with the bowlers, adding to the total a vital 20 runs each time around. Not to leave behind his fielding abilities and Jadeja and Kuldeep will be our spin partnership for the world cup.
