Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar said that he would have certainly considered picking Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the fourth seamer in the WTC 2021 final against New Zealand.
Indian bowlers apart from Mohammad Shami were not much effective during New Zealand’s first innings. Though the seamers kept a check on the flow of runs they failed to make the most of the swinging conditions in Southampton.
With Indian pacers struggling to extract swing many feel that Team India is missing the services of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the WTC final as he could have contributed in many ways. The 31-year-old wasn’t picked for the tour to England and is currently with India’s limited-overs side in Sri Lanka as the vice-captain.
He does magic with the new ball, Aakash Chopra says India is missing this bowler in WTC 2021 Final
Batting great Sunil Gavaskar said that he would have certainly picked swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a one-off Test against New Zealand.
"I would have still played 2 spinners (happy with this Indian XI?). I would have gone with Bhuvneshwar Kumar only for this Test, only for the WTC Final. Not for the series against England. Just for this game," Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
Gavaskar said that he would’ve played Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the 4th seamer in the WTC final. He also questioned how the pacer's fitness came in the way of his selection when he had played in the IPL without any issues.
"If he was around, I would go with him as the 4th seamer as well. It could have been (Fitness issues a concern). But he did play the IPL this time around. And there was not any injury issue. Yes, in the last IPL he did pull out But just for this game, it’s being played in the month of June. I would have certainly considered Bhuvneshwar Kumar," he said.
Gavaskar further said that he still feels that spinners will play a part in the Test match as New Zealand doesn’t play spin well.
"I still believe the spinners should be used. The fact of the matter is New Zealand doesn’t play quality spin. Ashwin has to come into the attack. At the other end, Jadeja can bowl into the footmarks," he concluded.
The WTC is evenly poised even though two days were washed out due to the rain. The Kiwis took a substantial 32-run lead in the first innings. At stumps on Day 5, Team India is 32 runs ahead of New Zealand’s score with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease.
(Star Sports inputs)
