"You need spinners who can genuinely turn the ball"- Former India cricketer leaves out Yuzvendra Chahal from his World Cup plans
Former Indian cricketer Laxman Sivaramakrishnan claimed that he may not stick with leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for the ODI World Cup in India next year. Chahal had a disappointing ODI series against New Zealand and has faced heavy scrutiny for his inability to pick up wickets in the middle overs.
Sivaramakrishnan feels in one-day cricket, one needs those spinners who can turn the ball big and Chahal isn't one of them. So if the tracks prepared for next year's World Cup are absolute belters, the former cricketer feels Chahal might be carted all around the park.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda in an interaction arranged by Sony Sports Network, here's what Sivaramakrishnan had to say about Yuzvendra Chahal:
"Unless they produce wickets in the World Cup that assist spinners, I don't think I will pick Chahal. The overs that he is going to bowl, you will have only four men on the boundary.
"Chahal is not a big turner of the ball and you need spinners who can genuinely turn the ball by a fair margin to pick wickets in middle overs. I would probably take a chance on Kuldeep (Yadav)."
Sivaramakrishnan on Washington Sundar's potential for India
Sivaramakrishnan also spoke about all-rounder Washington Sundar and how he can be an incredible asset to the Indian team across formats. Especially in white-ball cricket, the former cricketer feels that Sundar is right up there with the likes of Hardik Pandya in the category of a 'genuine all-rounder'.
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On this, Sivaramakrishnan stated:
"In white-ball cricket, if you're looking at a genuine all-rounder apart from Hardik Pandya, it has to be Washington Sundar. He is more than capable of batting at No.6 and then you can use him as your sixth bowler because he can bat beautifully. You can compare him with someone like Jadeja."
Sundar was highly impressive with both bat and ball in the New Zealand ODIs. It will be interesting to see if he becomes a mainstay in the Indian ODI team with the World Cup less than a year away.