The 50-over World Cup is all set to take place in India in October and for that, the schedule is already out. The host India will start their campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai. Before it, the former Indian captain and the ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has given a big suggestion.
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly emphasized the importance of having a leg-spinner in the Indian team for the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup. He specifically mentioned that the team management should closely look at Yuzvendra Chahal due to his consistent performances in both ODI and T20I cricket.
The 2023 ODI World Cup is set to start on October 5 in India, where defending champions England will take on New Zealand in the opening match. As teams prepare for this prestigious tournament, former cricketer Sourav Ganguly shared his opinion on the importance of including a leg-spinner in the Indian team. With several options available in terms of finger-spinners, Ganguly advocates considering players like Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav to gain an advantage over other teams in the tournament.
“I feel India has to find a wrist-spinner for this World Cup. Jadeja is there, Ravichandran Ashwin is there, Axar Patel is there, who according to me is also an exceptional all-rounder. (Ravi) Bishnoi and Kuldeep (Yadav) are there but (Yuzvendra) Chahal somehow misses big tournaments. He performs extremely consistently in shorter formats, whether it is 20-over or 50-over. It is important to keep an eye on him as well,” Ganguly told Star Sports.
In the 2019 World Cup, Chahal was part of the Indian Squad and he grabbed 12 wickets in eight matches. However, he was not included in the squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup and did not get a chance to play in a single match of the 2022 T20 tournament.
While giving an example of Piyush Chawla and his performance in the 2011 World Cup, Ganguly said that leg spinners can always make a difference. The wrist spinners can create trouble for the batters of England, Australia, and South Africa.
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“When you will play Australia, England, or South Africa, a wrist-spinner makes a difference in these conditions. In 2011, there was Piyush Chawla, who bowled well. When we went to South Africa in 2007, there also our wrist spinners bowled well along with the fast bowlers. Harbhajan Singh was in that team. I feel it will be extremely important to keep a wrist-spinner in Indian conditions,” he added.
