Last Update: March 21, 2023, 20:53 IST
Kuldeep Yadav (left) and Yuzvendra Chahal during a training session. (AFP photo)
India head coach Rahul Dravid says the team management wants to be consistent in terms of its selection policy in the lead-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup.
With 2023 being the year of the ODI World Cup, the Indian team management is relentlessly zeroing in on a squad for the marquee tournament and for that they are trying to maintain a level of consistency in the selection of players.
The home team will definitely benefit from the World Cup being held in India this time. They will be more familiar with the conditions than others and will know the role the spinners will be playing.
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And India head coach Rahul Dravid knows how beneficial it is to play a wrist spinner, especially in the middle overs. They’ve got some quality options in that department – Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
A cursory glance at the playing XIs of the eight ODIs played by India this year would clearly indicate that it is Kuldeep’s left-arm spin that is preferred over Chahal’s leg-spin.
While the 28-year-old Kuldeep has played in all eight ODIs of 2023 so far, Chahal has featured in just two (one each against Sri Lanka and New Zealand).
And Dravid has confirmed that it will be Kuldeep who will be given a long rope as of now. He said, ‘Obviously being a wrist spinner, if he is bowling well, it is a big advantage. Taking wickets in the middle overs is important. A wrist spinner gives an opportunity to attack in the middle overs and take wickets, which is why Kuldeep has scored consistently,” Dravid said on Tuesday.
“We have Yuzi (Chahal), who is unfortunately a very good bowler and is missing. At the moment, we believe in giving consistent runs to guys before making a decision and Kuldeep is the one who has been scoring runs in the last few matches.”
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Dravid, however, is not sure whether the pitches will help the spinners during the World Cup. “We always believed that wickets in India would spin. We really guess. I don’t think the last two spin at all. Dravid said, we never know what we are going to get in the World Cup.
“In the league stage, in nine cities, it is in October, the wickets will not be as tired as maybe in the IPL and (that too) at the end of our summer. You just have to cover all your bases,” he said.
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