Unlikely that India will play Kul-Cha together in the T20 World Cup, asserts Deep Dasgupta
Chahal and Kuldeep had a memorable South Africa tour, few years back
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Deep Dasgupta has stated that it's unlikely that India will field Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav together in the T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, talking about India's upcoming series against Sri Lanka, VVS Laxman stated that he would like to play Sanju Samson ahead of Ishan Kishan.
With all-rounder Hardik Pandya sending down overs in the practice sessions ahead of the series against Sri Lanka, it is likely to pave way for the coming together of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav again. The wrist-spin duo had even bowled well in the intra-squad game, all of which bodes well for them going into the series. They were once India's premier spinners in white-ball cricket, however, post the 2019 World Cup, they are yet to play together.
Despite the high chances of the KulCha reunion in the upcoming series, cricket expert Deep Dasgupta doesn't see them playing together for the Men in Blue in the T20 World Cup. He feels that Rahul Chahar will play over Yuzvendra Chahal while Kuldeep Yadav hasn't been in the scheme of things for quite a while now.
"At the moment, it looks unlikely. To be very honest, I see Rahul Chahar ahead of Yuzi (Yuzvendra Chahal). A lot will depend on the Sri Lanka series and obviously on the IPL as well," Dasgupta answered on his Youtube channel, reported HT.
"As for Kuldeep, he has not been the preferred bowler for more than a year and a half. So, it looks unlikely to me as of now. I don't know what will happen in six months," he added.
Meanwhile, India will take on Sri Lanka in the first ODI on July 18. Talking about the team's composition, former Indian Test batsman VVS Laxman stated that he will pick Sanju Samson ahead of Ishant Kishan as the wicketkeeper of the side. He added that he would also have KulCha and the Pandya brothers in the XI.
“Well, it’s a very detailed squad, a 20-man squad. But I will go with Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, the No.3 batsman would be Suryakumar Yadav. At No.4 will be Sanju Samson in ODIs, No.5 will be Manish Pandey, at No.6 I will go with Hardik Pandya, No.7 Krunal Pandya. I will have two fast bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar and two spinners will be Kuldeep and Chahal. This is my ODI XI," Laxman said on Star Sports.
However, Irfan Pathan didn't agree with Laxman's views and reckoned with Hardik Pandya bowling, he would rather have Nitish Rana in place of Krunal.
“Only one change I would like, Hardik Pandya is bowling, so I will have him as an all-rounder, one more batsman I will add – Nitish Rana in place of Krunal. Apart from that same, because I will like to see Hardik Pandya bowl quite a few number of overs,” Pathan said.
The three-match ODI series between India and Sri Lanka will be followed by three T20Is. The schedule of the series was revised after two support staff members from the Sri Lankan team had tested positive for COVID-19, which had extended the team's isolation. However, all the players tested negative in the subsequent round of testing and the series will commence on July 18.
