Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has revealed his preferred ‘first-choice’ spinner as the veteran picked his India playing XI for the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023.
When quizzed about India’s combination, and whether the Men in Blue will look to play with two spinners, Manjrekar said that he feels Rohit Sharma will only go with one spinner, in case there’s not a specific plan against a team that struggles against the turn.
Earlier this week, India’s schedule for the ODI World Cup 2023 was confirmed by ICC in an event hosted in Mumbai as the hosts of the marquee tournament are set to travel nearly 4800 kms as they will play at 9 different venues during the group stage.
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The former cricketer turned commentator highlighted that he’d personally pick Kuldeep Yadav over Yuzvendra Chahal, due to the former’s ability to pick wickets when the opposition batters are not looking to play the big shots.
“I don’t think so. 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,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
Manjrekar said that while Chahal will make the cut for the squad, he feels Kuldeep’s ability to pick wickets when the batters are ‘pushing’ and not looking to attack would give him an edge.
“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,” he added.
“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,” Manjrekar stated further.
India get their ODI World Cup underway against Australia on October 8 with the high-octane clash set to take place at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
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