India cricket great Sunil Gavaskar believes it's the right time to pick fast bowler Deepak Chahar over Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the road to the 2023 World Cup. Bhuvneshwar was very expensive with the ball in the first two ODIs against South Africa.
In the first ODI, Bhuvneshwar conceded 64 runs in 10 overs, and in the second match, he got smashed for 67 runs in 8 overs. Gavaskar sees Chahar as the ideal replacement for the out-of-form speedster, who can also contribute with the bat.
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"I think it's time to look at Deepak Chahar now. He is younger, pretty much the same kind of bowler, and bats handily down the order," Gavaskar said on Sports Today.
"Bhuvi has been a tremendous servant of Indian cricket but in the last year or so, even in franchise level T20 cricket, he has been expensive. Not so much at the start of the innings but towards the end. He used to bowl those brilliant yorkers and slower deliveries, but those are not working anymore. That can happen, the opposition is studying you all the time and they will know how to be prepared for it. So maybe it is time to look at somebody else," he added.
India lost the second ODI by 7 wickets after the bowlers failed to defend the target of 288 runs. South Africa chased the target down in 48.1 overs without any fuss.
Gavaskar wants India to keep the 2023 World Cup in mind while building their ODI squad. He added that the team has got enough time for preparation as the tournament is scheduled to be played next year in India.
"Now the intention should be to look at what is going to be your core team for the 2023 World Cup in India. We have got a good 17-18 months to do that. The core team have got to get the maximum number of ODIs.
"There are matches coming against West Indies, Sri Lanka, and later on against England. That is where you have got to give them the maximum number of matches so they are well prepared for the World Cup," said Gavaskar.
(With Sports Today Inputs)
