The current Twenty20 World Cup 2024 is at its pivotal Super Eight stage, and Team India is currently in the Caribbean to participate. The Men in Blue won Group A after defeating the United States, Pakistan, and Ireland.
In the meantime, superstar batsman Virat Kohli has been awful in this tournament, managing just five runs in three innings. Fans will be watching closely to see if the modern-day great can regain his form on more batting-friendly wickets when India prepares to meet Afghanistan on June 20 at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.
Kohli spent a lot of time in the nets trying to rediscover his groove in a long training session the day before the match against Afghanistan. From what we can gather in Bridgetown, though, the ex-captain apparently kept having trouble, especially against the reserve seamer Khaleel Ahmed.
In an effort to get back into the running game, Kohli blasted a long ball, the majority of which was a throwdown, before he went to face Kuldeep and Khaleel Ahmed at the other net. According to a source reported by News 18, Kohli was left irritated when he failed to hit a few balls from Khaleel, despite facing most of them from Kuldeep.
The pitch should turn in the middle as well: Former international
There have been rumblings that India would upgrade their bowling assault for the Super Eights by adding Kuldeep Yadav, a world-class wrist-spinner. In the group stage, Kuldeep was unexpectedly benched as India favoured a trio of specialist pacers, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja as finger spinners.
If India decides to bench a third seamer, Kuldeep may receive the nod from skipper Rohit Sharma, who has emphasised the need for four all-rounders for balance. On Tuesday, as head coach Rahul Dravid was watching, the left-arm wrist-spinner bowled an extended spell at Rohit and Kohli in the nets.
The Kensington Oval pitch is reportedly turning, which would force India to consider starting Kuldeep again.
The pitch will also turn in the middle, albeit not quite as much as it does in the nets. Up to this point in the Caribbean, the spinners have been a huge help. An ex-international at the stadium expressed his belief that India will not alter their batting lineup because the team is unwilling to risk losing ground.
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