India need Kuldeep Yadav vs England: Michael Vaughan suggests massive change for semi-final
"I would play Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep, over the years, has had England on toast in any format. He has always been a bowler England have struggled to pick," Michael Vaughan said.
India and England will compete in the second semi-final of the 2026 T20 World Cup on Thursday, March 5, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The winner of this mouth-watering fixture will go on to face New Zealand in Sunday's final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan opined that India should make a tactical change in their playing XI, and bring left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav into the side. The cricketer-turned-expert highlighted how the England batters have struggled to pick Kuldeep over the years.
"I would play Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep, over the years, has had England on toast in any format. He has always been a bowler England have struggled to pick. Do you need Tilak Varma or Shivam Dube down the order? Instead, I would be playing the left-arm leg-spinner against this England batting lineup. We don't know if Kuldeep is in form as he hasn't played. But him against the England batters will be a good matchup for India," Vaughan said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
However, Vaughan noted that India's head coach Gautam Gambhir likes to have a lot of depth in the batting department and that is why playing Kuldeep Yadav might not be possible.
“But Gautam Gambhir's history is to generally pack the batting. He sets up T20 teams where you've got a real powerful insurance at 7, 8 and 9. So what I am saying potentially won't happen, but it would be worthwhile to play Kuldeep against this England batting lineup," Vaughan stated.
In three T20Is against England, Kuldeep has bagged eight wickets at an average of 9.62 and an economy rate of 6.41. His most notable performance against the Three Lions in the shortest format came at Old Trafford, Manchester, in 2018, when he finished with figures of 5/24 in four overs.
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Kuldeep has played only one match so far in the ongoing T20 World Cup. It was against Pakistan, where he bowled three overs, giving away 14 runs and picking up the wicket of Mohammad Nawaz.
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