During the group stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup, Team India went with a four-pronged seam attack on two-paced wickets in the USA. However, this combination is expected to change in the Super 8s considering the success of spinners in the Caribbean.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Monday (June 17) also hinted that spinners could be seen in action during the death overs when India begin their Super 8 campaign against Afghanistan in Barbados from June 20 onwards.
The Men in Blue remained undefeated in Group A as they triumphed over Ireland, Pakistan and the USA in low-scoring games in New York while their last game against Canada in Florida was abandoned due to wet outfield.
Speaking to Star Sports, Jadeja said the pitches in West Indies are slow and dry, offering plenty of assistance to spinners in middle overs.
"Whenever we play in the West Indies, the wicket remains a bit slow and dry. The match timing is also in the morning so spinners will have help. Even in India, there are many wickets where spinners get help. So it is a good thing that spinners will get help here in the middle overs. You could see spinners being used in the death overs as well," Jadeja stated.
Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav also endorsed Jadeja's views, stating that the bowlers' lengths become crucial in T20I cricket.
"The spinners do get help in the West Indies and so I think four spinners are picked in the squad. In this format, the bowlers' length becomes crucial and I have said this many times. I had played the T20I series against West Indies last year and it was a good series for the spinners so I expect similar pitches," Kuldeep told Star Sports.
After facing Afghanistan, India will be up against Bangladesh and Australia in the Super 8 round on June 22 and June 24 at Antigua and St. Lucia respectively.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Travelling Reserves: Shubman Gill (released), Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan (released).
