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Why is Kuldeep Yadav not playing today’s semi-final match vs New Zealand | 2019 Cricket World Cup news

Gurpreet Singh
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Why is Kuldeep Yadav not playing today’s semi-final match vs New Zealand | 2019 Cricket World Cup news

Why is Kuldeep Yadav not playing today’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-final match versus New Zealand at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester

Team India’s premier wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been left out of the Playing 11 for the India vs New Zealand first semi-final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup at The Old Trafford in Manchester.

ALSO READ: Is Mohammad Shami playing in today’s semi-final match?

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the all-important Toss at the overcast conditions at The Old Trafford and decided to bat first, on expected lines.

India skipper Virat Kohli would have too liked to bat first looking at the freshness of the pitch. This match becomes all the more important as it will decide the first finalist of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Yuzvendra Chahal in for Kuldeep

Perhaps impressed by the way all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja performed in the previous match against Sri Lanka, it became pretty challenging to hand him a snub in the Playing 11. Thus Jadeja retains his place in the side.

Thus, one of the two wrist spinners had to face the axe, and it is Kuldeep Yadav who makes way for Yuzvendra Chahal in today’s playing 11 versus New Zealand.

Kuldeep had returned with figures of 10-0-58-1 in the previous league match against Sri Lanka at Headingley in Leeds.

Chahal has picked up 11 wickets in the eight matches he has played so far in the marquee tournament, while Kuldeep has manged to scalp only 7 wickets in the six matches he has played. Thus, perhaps looking at the comparatively good run in form with which Chahal is going through, he gets a thumbs-up ahead of the Chinaman.

India Playing 11:

Lokesh Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

One change for New Zealand

New Zealand skipper- Kane Willimson on the other hand, has gone in for one solitary change. They have brought in their express pacer- Lockie Ferguson in place of Tim Southee, who looked quite ordinary in the Kiwis’ last league match versus England, returning with figures of 9-0-70-1.

New Zealand Playing 11

Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult

About the author

Gurpreet Singh

Gurpreet Singh

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Gurpreet Singh is a Cricket writer at The Sportsrush. His platonic relationship with sports had always been there since childhood, but Cricket managed to strike a special, intimate nerve of his heart. Although his initial dream of playing the sport at the highest level couldn't come to fruition, Gurpreet did represent the state of Jharkhand at the under-14 level. However, almost like taking a pledge to never let the undying passion for Cricket fade away even a tad, he made sure to continue the love relationship by assigning the field of journalism as an indirect Cupid. He thus, first finished his bachelor's in journalism and then pursued the PG Diploma course in English journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). Soon after and since 2019, he has been working at The Sportsrush. Apart from sports, he takes keen interest in politics, and in understanding women and gender-related issues.

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