“Kuldeep coming in at No. 8 is not the answer” - Wasim Jaffer questions India’s combination for 1st T20I vs West Indies
Former cricketer Wasim Jaffer reckons India got their team balance wrong in the first T20I against the West Indies. Referring to Kuldeep Yadav coming into bat No. 8, Jaffer said that India’s tail for the game was way too long.
The Men in Blue went down to West Indies by four runs in the opening T20I played at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, on Thursday. The visitors did well to restrict the Windies to 149-6 but were restricted to 145-9.
In a post-match show on ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer raised questions over the combination India picked for the game, which forced them to play with a long tail.
“Numbers 8, 9, 10, and 11 do not have boundary-hitting ability. That’s a concern when you play in this format. If Australia, England, New Zealand, or even West Indies were playing, you would back them to get those runs. India is not strong in that department, and that’s where the balance needs to be right," he said.
"There are a lot of things that you have to look into when you make that combination. Kuldeep coming in at No. 8 is not the answer,” the former player said.
Kuldeep Yadav flick aur wrist work toh aise dikhata hai jaise Kallis + Dravid ka combo ho par batting Ashish nehra se bhi bura karta hai
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Team India went into the first T20I with both wrist-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep, while left-arm spinner Axar Patel was the all-rounder.
“The batters should have taken the game a little bit deep” - Wasim Jaffer
Apart from team combination, the former also expressed disappointment at the manner in which India approached their chase. He added that the visitors should have taken the game deep but kept losing wickets.
“India have lost it. It was India’s game to win. They would have fancied chasing 150 with the kind of top order that we have. They’ll be disappointed with this batting display. The batters should have taken the game a little bit deep. It would have been much easier, with Romario Shepherd bowling in the death," Jaffer opined.
"If there were a couple of decent batters, I think India would have gotten home with one over to spare,” he added.
West Indies defend 37 in the last 5 overs to go 1-0 in the 5-match T20I series.
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Chasing 150, India needed 37 off 30 with six wickets in hand. However, Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson were dismissed in the next over after which the tail imploded.