Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has cautioned the Indian cricket team ahead of its clash against the West Indies in the 2nd T20I on Sunday, August 6 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.
Jaffer highlighted that the Windies hold the advantage of being familiar with the conditions better than India and mentioned that India, in particular, should be wary of the “explosive batters” present in the West Indian batting order as they can hurt the visitors badly.
“I think West Indies know the conditions well because they play CPL. Their bowlers use the conditions very well. They have many explosive batters – Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell. Indian team need to be wary and play good cricket to win the match,” said Jaffer while speaking to ESPNcricinfo.
The 45-year-old also added that team India needs to bat deep, till number 8 and for that to happen, it might have to take the tough call of dropping either Yuzvendra Chahal or the left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. He also suggested the possibility of opening with Tilak Varma as an opening batter and someone who could chip in with the ball as well as and when needed.
“You want a batter or all-rounder at No.8. Available options are Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. If Axar comes at No. 8, you can afford to play only one among KulCha (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal). Maybe, you might have to reduce one spinner as a forced change. There is a possibility of adding a batter and using Tilak Varma as an opener and bowler.”
India lost a nail-biting clash against the hosts in the curtain-raiser of the ongoing five-match T20I series by a slender margin of just four runs. The Indian tailenders failed to provide the finishing touch in a comparatively low-scoring affair which took place on a used surface at the Brain Lara Stadium in Trinidad.
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