T20 World Cup: Pacers will dominate, don’t see Kuldeep being picked for Pakistan clash, says Chopra

New York, June 6 (IANS) Former India opener Aakash Chopra said he really wishes to see  Kuldeep Yadav in the playing eleven for the marquee T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan on June 9. At the same time, Chopra conceded Kuldeep may not be picked for the match.

In Wednesday’s match against Ireland, India threw in a surprise when Kuldeep, who picked 16 wickets in 11 IPL 2024 games for the Delhi Capitals, didn't find a place in the playing eleven, with Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja preferred spin-bowling options.

“This match will be a battle of nerves, obviously skills matter equally. Both teams will have almost equal support from the fans at the stadium. It is very hard to tell how the pitch will behave during the match, but the toss will be crucial because whoever wins will choose to bowl first and look to control the powerplay.”

“I believe that pace will dominate the match and India will come out with the same team. I really want Kuldeep Yadav to play but I don’t really see him being picked for this match,” said Chopra in an episode of JioCinema’s show ‘#AAKASHVANI’.

With pitches in New York favouring bowlers heavily via excessive movement and variable bounce, Chopra thinks Pakistan will be happy with having two left-arm fast-bowlers in young Shaheen Shah Afridi and veteran Mohammad Amir, who have the knack of taking scalps in power-play.

“When you look at Pakistan’s bowling and take into account the pitch conditions as well, if you are a Pakistan fan, you will definitely be very happy. If the pitch has a little bit of spice and the ball is swinging left or right, then they will be thinking that they can win this matchup in the powerplay.”

“The fixtures that are taking place in New York will mainly be decided in the powerplay itself – whether it is with the bat or the ball. If the bowling team picks up three wickets in the powerplay, the game is theirs, if the batting team loses just one wicket in that period, they will have the upper hand.”

Chopra also feels Pakistan should field an all fast-bowling line-up in their marquee clash against India. “I think Pakistan should play all four fast bowlers. If they play, then they can really cause trouble for the Indian batters. But that is the big question - will they play the four pacers?”

“The expected total for this venue seems conservative, around 125-130 or 150-160 towards the higher end, but it doesn’t seem like a 200-run game. And these kinds of matches really suit Pakistan,” he concluded.