‘I see Chahal being part of the squad but…’ – Former India cricketer shares views on India’s spin attack ahead of ODI World Cup 2023
Yuzvendra Chahal (Source: Twitter)
Though the ODI World Cup 2023 is less than 100 days away, there are still concerns over India’s spin combinations. Ravichandran Ashwin has been mentioned a lot recently, even though Ravindra Jadeja is considered a valuable all-arounder option. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, two bowlers who have dominated in white-ball cricket, are India’s other two top other options. When questioned about his pick for the spin attack, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar made it clear that it is highly unlikely that Chahal and Kuldeep will play together.
“I don’t think so (playing two wrist spinners). Very rarely it can happen depending on the opposition. If there is a real weakness in the opposition to play wrist spin, then you have Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal both playing in the XI. I see Chahal being part of the squad but I prefer Kuldeep Yadav when it comes to wrist spin as the spinner in 50-over cricket. I am getting a little technical here. You need a spinner who can get wickets of batters while they are pushing, not hitting the big shots,” Manjrekar said in an interaction with ESPNCricinfo.
Manjrekar said that he will personally select Kuldeep for the 50-over format even if he thinks Chahal will be selected for the World Cup. “In T20 cricket, that is something you see very often. That’s how spinners get wickets. In 50-overs cricket, it’s a game where you push more than you actually slog. So a spinner capable of getting those wickets is Kuldeep Yadav. So he is sort of my first-choice wrist-spinner in the playing XI and then I will be looking at other options,” he explained in the interaction.
India’s schedule for ODI World Cup 2023:
October 8: India v Australia, Chennai
October 11: India v Afghanistan, New Delhi
October 15: India v Pakistan, Ahmedabad
October 19: India v Bangladesh, Pune
October 22: India v New Zealand, Dharamsala
October 29: India v England, Lucknow
November 2: India v Qualifier 2, Mumbai
November 5: India v South Africa, Kolkata
November 11: India v Qualifier 1, Bengaluru
