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Ahead of India's must-win ICC Men's T20 World Cup Super Eight clash against Zimbabwe, the Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak discussed the possibility of including left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI, saying that while it is not difficult to play wrist spinners, the tempting way would be to go with a spin bowling all-rounder and have the batting line-up stretching till number eight.
Following a heartbreaking 76-run loss to South Africa at Ahmedabad, India will have to win the remainder of their Super Eight fixtures against Zimbabwe and the West Indies to stay in contention, while also relying on South Africa maintaining an unbeaten run in this stage. The Men in Blue did not field vice-captain Axar Patel in their previous game and utilised their left-arm wrist spin powerhouse Kuldeep just against Pakistan, will have a lot to ponder on combination-wise heading into the Zimbabwe clash. With batter Rinku Singh likely to miss the game due to personal reasons and inconsistent form affecting players like Abhishek Sharma or Tilak Varma, team composition remains a key consideration. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Kotak said, "I personally think it is difficult because in a T20 game, you want batting till number eight. So, if number 8, if you are thinking about the spinner, then you will obviously think about an all-rounder. So with seven betters, I think any team would normally prefer a number number as an all-rounder or a person who can score 30-40 runs if required." "Because so many times on these wickets, yes, if you are chasing 200-220 and if you won 150-6, you would think that the all-rounder can get those 20 runs and create a partnership and win you the game. It is not difficult to play two wrist spinners. Same situation with (Mohammed) Siraj also. He also bowled well. But at the end of the day, only 11 can play. So you try to keep that balance of what the team requires and pick the best 11," he added. Kuldeep is an extremely prolific wrist spinner, having snapped 95 wickets in 54 matches at an average of 13.74, with an economy rate of 6.95, including three four-wicket hauls and two five-wicket hauls and best figures of 5/17. He played a crucial role in India's Asia Cup win last year, topping the wicket charts with 17 wickets. (ANI)
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