BRIDGETOWN: It's been one of the most difficult decisions for the team management so far — how to play
Kuldeep Yadav
, who came into the event in red-hot form but hasn't got a game yet?
And now that India are into the West Indies leg of the World Cup, is there a temptation to get the left-arm wrist spinner into the playing XI?
On both days of practice at the
Kensington Oval
here, the chinaman bowler was seen turning his arm over for long spells.
In the spinners' net, Kuldeep was definitely the best bowler in action.
In the long spell that he bowled in tandem with
Ravindra Jadeja
, both got the ball to turn quite a bit. It's difficult to predict whether the nature of the practice pitch and the centre-wicket where the game will be played on Thursday will be of similar nature. But if it is anything close, Kuldeep should be in the fray.
During his spell, Kuldeep got both
Rohit Sharma
and
Virat Kohli
out, not a mean feat wherever you're playing. While Rohit lobbed one back to Kuldeep, Virat's slash outside the off-stump should have resulted in a catch in cover.
But the problem of including Kuldeep here will mean that the team will have to break a winning combination. India will be extremely reluctant to drop any of the four all-rounders in
Hardik Pandya
, Shivam Dube, Jadeja and Axar Patel. If there has to be a change, it has to be to leave Mohammed Siraj out.
"Ideally, India should go in with three pacers and three spinners, but it's to be seen whether they are ready to take the gamble," an insider who has a fair understanding of the Kensington Oval conditions told TOI.
The team management, too, understands that it is slightly unfair to keep Kuldeep out. Bowling coach Paras Mhambrey had said that the left-armer could well be in the equation once the group moves to the West Indies.
Captain Rohit, too, had spoken of some "secret" up his sleeve that he didn't want to divulge in New York. "You'll have to wait for some more time to know what it is," Rohit had said during one of his interactions.
One feels in slightly favourable conditions for spinners, Kuldeep can well be that secret weapon that Rohit had spoken about. But there's absolutely no denying that two finger spinners and one wrist-spinner, and all in good form, make the attack look way more balanced.
The fact that Aussie leggie Adam Zampa became the Man of the Match here in a high-scoring match when they played England should also be in the team management's mind when they sit down to choose the XI.
Pant takes a break
Rishabh Pant had a long batting and wicket-keeping session on Monday but he took a break on Tuesday. It was an optional session and Pant might well have been cooling his heels before a final training session on Wednesday.
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