Former Indian pacer, Zaheer Khan reckons that the current hot weather conditions in England will provide Team India the freedom of playing with two specialist spinners. He also expressed that he is having high expectations the young left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the upcoming five-match Test series against England starting August 1.
During the sidelines of a seminar ‘Scorecard’ organized by the CII, Zaheer said, “Yes, if conditions are hot, it may be difficult for fast bowlers but then you always have the option to play two specialist spinners. If the conditions remain like that, they (Indian team management) might be tempted to play two spinners.”
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Young Kuldeep has grabbed a lot of eyeballs in recent times for his impressive performance in the limited-overs leg of the UK tour. When asked if too much pressure is being put on the young spinner, Zaheer begged to differ. He said, “The expectations have grown since he has done well at the international level. When you do well, it is bound to happen and he (Kuldeep) will have to handle that.”
There is no doubt about the fact that when India registered their last series win in England, Khan was the chief architect of the triumph and he reckons that Team India’s partially succesful tour to South Africa series is an indicator that Virat Kohli’s men are on right direction as far as the longest format of the game is concerned.
Khan elaborated, “Everyone is saying that this will be the ‘Indian Summer’ in the UK. But we have to keep in mind that this is a five-Test series. Five-Test series can be very challenging. You need to show a lot of consistency. But what gives me hope is the manner in which they played in South Africa. Yes, they lost the Test series (1-2) but the way the fought back in the final Test was impressive. The energy and approach they showed gives me a lot of hope.”
In 2019, around the same time of the year, the men in blue will be returning to England to take part in the ICC World Cup 2019 and in Zaheer’s opinion, Jasprit Bumrah will play a crucial role in India’s chances. As his absence was felt by India during the three-match ODI series against England which they lost 1-2.
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However, the veteran Indian pacer also feels that MS Dhoni ‘s place in the World Cup squad shouldn’t be a topic of debate feels that there is no point in debating over Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s place in the team ahead of the World Cup.
Talking MS further, Zaheer said, “Dhoni has performed the difficult job of captaining India for years. His experience could prove to be extremely beneficial. He is as good as we have got.”
Zaheer Khan concluded by talking about the Yo-Yo test as he clarified that he supports the Indian team management about having a parameter for fitness.
Khan elaborated, What I know is that the parameter set by the current Indian team (16.1) is pretty low compared to the world standard. Look, for me, any parameter is acceptable as long as it is uniformly applied. If the criteria is same for the top most and the junior most cricketer, I have no issues. Obviously, there is focus on skill but this Indian team wants to be a fit unit. Virat and the team management is trying to ensure that for the benefit of the team.”
