Team India head coach Rahul Dravid hinted at a major change to the bowling attack ahead of India's next T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match against Afghanistan in Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday, June 20. Dravid highlighted different playing conditions in the West Indies compared to the USA and revealed that India could use either Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal at Kensington Oval.
India fielded the same playing eleven for their first three first-round matches and were able to pull off desired results. The spin duo of Kuldeep and Yuzvendra warmed the bench with batting all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel forming a spin partnership in the USA.
However, the playing conditions in New York proved favourable to pace bowlers and spinners struggled for wickets. Speaking in the pre-match press conference in Bridgetown, Dravid revealed a potential change to their winning combination and added that having all-round players will help India rotate.
"It's tough to leave anyone out," Rahul Dravid said. "New York had pace bowlers' conditions slightly different. We might need something different here in Barbados. Yuzvendra Chahal or Kuldeep Yadav could be used here. We are lucky to have players with all-round abilities. We had eight batters but we also had seven bowling options."
Dravid also pointed out Indian batters' flexibility to bat in different positions with different roles in T20 cricket.
"Each situation is unique. Can't set it in stone. I believe in flexibility. In the Pakistan game, we moved Axar Patel, specifically thinking around it. Rishabh Pant up the order at No.3, lots of thinking goes into it. I don't think we will have that flexibility in Test cricket. In T20s where it is a lot about match-ups, you see it happening more," Dravid added.
Apart from Kuldeep and Yuzvendra, the likes of Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal are also waiting on the bench for their maiden appearance in the T20 World Cup 2024. The management is likely to stick with the same batting unit despite some inconsistent performances in New York's tough playing conditions.
