Team India have lost the second ODI against South Africa on Friday. While the pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been struggling with the ball, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has said that Deepak Chahar should come in the place of Kumar in the team. Notably, Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 64 runs in the first match and 67 in the second as well.
“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,” further added Sunil Gavaskar.
India should start building the core team for 2023 World Cup- Sunil Gavaskar
Meanwhile, Deepak Chahar picked up a wicket in each of the three T20Is he played against New Zealand last year in November. He was also won the player of the match in the last ODI he played in July last year for his all-round performance. He registered the figures of 2/53 against Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Colombo. Later, he guided India to victory with an unbeaten 69 off 82 balls while batting at No.8, adding an unbeaten stand of 84 runs for the eighth wicket as well.
And, Sunil Gavaskar shared that Team India should be making their squads for ODIs while keeping the 2023 World Cup in mind. The tournament is slated to be played in India in October and November next year.
“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,” concluded Sunil Gavaskar.
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