Stephen Fleming Backs Kuldeep Yadav for India’s T20 WC Squad

Former New Zealand cricketer Stephen Fleming believes Kuldeep Yadav could be a valuable addition to India’s squad in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, providing crucial wicket-taking flair. Kuldeep, who made his T20I debut in 2017, has played 35 T20 matches, taking 59 wickets at an economy rate of 6.75.

Speaking exclusively on the ‘ESPNCricinfo Timeout show,’ Fleming discussed Team India’s strategy in the West Indies during the tournament. He suggested that Kuldeep could be instrumental in taking additional wickets if the pitches in the West Indies offer turn.

“They’ve still got that opportunity now to do both, which is good. Horses for courses—you can’t be so set in one way of playing that you miss the opportunities to take advantage of conditions. But yeah, I would think maybe Kuldeep would come in to provide that extra bit of wicket-taking flair if the wickets do provide the turn as they get a little bit more used and you get closer to the end of the tournament,” Fleming said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

India aims to perform well against Afghanistan (June 20), Bangladesh (June 22), and Australia (June 24) to secure big wins, qualify for the semifinals, and end India’s ICC trophy drought since the 2013 Champions Trophy. They also hope to win their first T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition in South Africa in 2007.

The Men in Blue have showcased a remarkable performance in the group stage, finishing at the top of Group A with seven points.

Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj.