Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar feels that India is like Colombo’s R. Premadasa is preparing for a spin-heavy attack against Pakistan on the slow pitch of the stadium. He has suggested that wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav can be included in place of experienced fast bowler Arshdeep Singh.
India made a strong start to their ICC T20 World Cup campaign and are almost through to the next stage with two early wins against the United States and Namibia. However, despite some strong performances from the Indian players, some flaws were also evident in the last two matches.
However, India’s upcoming game is the biggest game of the tournament from the fans’ point of view, not because the India-Pakistan rivalry is often said to be the greatest rivalry or because they have a dominating record against the opponent, but because it will be their first challenge against a tough opponent coming into this World Cup.
Sunil Gavaskar predicts major changes in Indian attack ahead of big matches against Pakistan
Given India’s current standards, it is very difficult for any team to give them a tough fight, which has been proven in the last few series against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The Men in Blue have been an unbeatable team when it comes to the shortest format.
Ahead of the big-money match against Pakistan, Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar has said that he believes India will make massive tactical changes to their playing XI, as the high-voltage game will require one depending on the change in playing conditions.
India’s sports r. The venue is at the Premadasa Stadium, one of the slowest and most spin-friendly tracks in the subcontinent, meaning India can go with its natural tendency to play three frontline spinners on such a track.
Hence, Sunil Gavaskar predicted that Arshdeep Singh could be replaced by chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav as India look to field a spin-heavy attack for Colombo.
Gavaskar said, “All our bowlers took wickets. Arshdeep did not complete his four overs, while Hardik Pandya completed his quota. This indicates that Kuldeep Yadav may replace Arshdeep against Pakistan.”
Gavaskar praised Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav fiercely.
According to Gavaskar, India’s game plan against Namibia and the smart rotation of captain Suryakumar Yadav’s bowlers has almost signaled a change. Speaking on Star Sports Live, Gavaskar said that India could plan a spin-heavy attack and Arshdeep could be sacrificed for the same.
In their big win against Namibia, unlike Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep was the only player to get runs early and he could not even complete his quota of four overs.
According to Sunil Gavaskar, opening the bowling with Hardik Pandya once again seemed like a good option and hence Varun Chakravarthy was being limited to just 2 overs as the Indian captain did not want to showcase all his skills before the big match.
Highlighting the big positives for India, Gavaskar said, “Varun takes wickets whenever he is asked to bowl and Axar Patel taking two wickets is a very good sign.”
Sunil Gavaskar’s unfiltered opinion on Sanju Samson, “He needs to spend more time at the crease.”
After praising the bowling deck a lot, he also praised Sanju Samson’s batting against Namibia in the last game. Sanju was brought in as his replacement for Abhishek Sharma after he suffered from a stomach infection.
Abhishek’s return for the Pakistan match has not been decided yet and if Samson remains a part of the Indian playing eleven, then the former opener has given great advice for him. Sunil Gavaskar pointed out the flaw in his batting, which makes him weak in the beginning.
“He goes very deep and plays flick shots. He needs to spend more time at the crease, especially if he opens against the new ball,” Gavaskar said.
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