In the first game of the series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday at the Wankhede Stadium, experienced spinner Yuzvendra Chahal had a forgettable day with the ball conceding 26 runs of his 2 overs. It will be interesting to see whether India decides to rejig its playing XI for the series finale on Thursday with all-rounder Washington Sundar waiting in the wings.
Wasim Jaffer, a former Indian opener, said it would be a "huge call" by the Indian think tank to leave spin specialist Chahal off the starting XI for the second T20I.
The Indian captain Hardik Pandya was unable to allow Chahal to finish his allotted number of overs in the low-scoring thriller. Before the series-deciding match between India and Sri Lanka, veteran Indian opener Jaffer expressed his opinion, saying that the home team should include a wrist spinner in their starting lineup.
"Dropping Yuzvendra Chahal for Washington Sundar would be a huge call since I believe there should be a wrist spinner in the playing XI. Even though Sundar provides balance to the side because of his batting as well as his powerplay bowling, I don't think that a bowler like Chahal, who has delivered time and again, will be dropped after one bad outing. I think it is too early to consider making that change," Jaffer told ESPN Cricinfo.
Jaffer supported pacer Arshdeep Singh as a replacement for the ineffective Harshal Patel while discussing India's probable starting lineup for the second T20I.
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"If Arshdeep is available, then I think he will be back in the playing XI. Maybe he will get a chance in place of Harshal Patel. The first T20I was not a good one for Harshal Patel. But apart from that, I do not see any other changes to the playing XI," Jaffer added.
Prior to the first T20I, fast bowler Arshdeep was unavailable for selection since he had not yet recovered from his illness. India will play Sri Lanka in the second Twenty20 International on Thursday at Pune's Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium after gaining a 1-0 series lead.
Earlier, Sanju Samson was ruled out of the remaining two match of the T20I series. Samson hurt his left knee while attempting to field a ball near the boundary lines in the first T20I in Mumbai on Tuesday. Jitesh Sharma was named his replacement.
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