Former Indian captain Anil Kumble believes India should play with the same team against the West Indies in the ongoing T20 World Cup. India claimed a 72-run win against Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Thursday to stay afloat in the tournament.
Sanju Samson replaced Rinku Singh in the playing XI whereas vice-captain Axar Patel returned in place of Washington Sundar. While Samson scored a cameo of 24 runs off 15 balls, Patel returned with figures of 1-35 in his quota of four overs. Samson and Abhishek Sharma added 48 runs for the opening alliance, giving a decent start to the team.
Anil Kumble said on ESPN Cricinfo, “Nobody expected Abhishek Sharma to get out three times not scoring a single run. Then, suddenly off-spinner becomes a major hindrance to the batters at the top. The squad had only one [additional] top order batter. So, I guess you have made that decision, now you have to stick to it. You can’t keep changing. I think this combination will continue.”
On the other hand, former South African captain Faf du Plessis also agreed with Kumble and backed India to play with the same team against the Windies.
He added, “They had all these lefties. So, Sanju came in today and gave them a better look. They had a right and a left at the top. It wasn’t as obvious where the holes are. If you lose a couple of wickets, Tilak Varma can come in and play that anchor innings. You’ve got Hardik, so there’s options. It’s a very flexible batting line-up. They’ve played so well today, so why not keep the same team?”
India will take on the West Indies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Sunday.
