Virat Kohli Struggles Against Khaleel Ahmed in Nets; India Likely to Add Kuldeep Yadav to Playing XI

Virat Kohli has not had the best times in the T20 World Cup 2024, registering scores of 1, 4, and 0 in the New York leg of India’s campaign. India has landed in the Caribbean for the Super 8s, and fans will be hopeful that Kohli can turn around his fortunes on more batting-friendly starts at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown.

India began their Super 8s campaign facing off against Afghanistan, and one day removed from match day, India had an intense training session. Kohli also spent considerable time in the middle. But as per a  PTI from Bridgetown, Kohli was left frustrated after missing a few deliveries from India’s reserve bowler Khaleel Ahmed.

T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma Keen to do ‘Something Special’; But Wary of Hectic Super 8s Schedule

“Kohli, looking to get back among the runs, had a long hit, most of which were throwdowns before he moved to the adjacent net to face Kuldeep and Khaleel Ahmed. Kohli middled most of the balls against Kuldeep but missed out on a few from Khaleel, leaving him frustrated,” PTI reported.

Kuldeep Yadav into the mix for India’s T20 World Cup Super 8s

Kuldeep, India’s best spinner across formats, was benched for the league stage of the tournament as the team played three specialist pacers and two finger spinners in Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, stretching the batting till number 8.

Skipper Rohit Sharma has already stressed using four all-rounders (two pace and two spin) to balance the playing XI. Therefore, he is likely to maintain that front. So, the only way Kuldeep fits into the XI is if India drops a third pacer.

Much like the opening practice session, Kuldeep had an extended bowling session on Tuesday. He bowled to Rohit and Virat Kohli, who employed the slog sweep against the wrist spinners. With head coach Rahul Dravid watching, Kuldeep was bowling to an imaginary field against Rohit, who was beaten by the left-arm at the start of the session.

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If the ball turns at the main square as much as it has been doing in the nets, drafting in Kuldeep seems like a no-brainer. One can never be sure about the pitch behaviour come game day.

It could be a good batting wicket as Australia piled on 201 against arch-rivals England in the league stage of the competition.

“The pitch should turn in the middle as well, maybe not as much as it is in the nets, but it will turn. The spinners have proved quite useful throughout the Caribbean thus far. I don’t think India will make any changes; they would not want to compromise on their batting,” said a former international at the venue.

Passing shower briefly interrupted the session before Rohit and Co returned to the nets.

(With PTI Inputs)

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