Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra opined that India could play Washington Sundar in place of Kuldeep Yadav in the Champions Trophy final. Rohit Sharma and co. will take on New Zealand on Sunday at 2.30 PM at the Dubai International Cricket stadium. Ahead of the contest, Chopra explained why Sundar would be more effective against the New Zealand batting line-up.
Sundar over Kuldeep for CT 2025 final?
In a video on his YouTube channel, Chopra explained that Sundar was picked as an off-spinner option in India’s squad. He pointed out that the Tamil Nadu spinner could be most effective against left-handed batters, which New Zealand are studded with. Besides, the former Indian cricketer also noted that the resurgence of Washington begam after his success against the same Kiwis in the Test series in India last year.
“Washington Sundar was picked because India could have an off-spin variation and why do we need an of-spin variation? We need it when the opposition has many left-handed batters. Now which team has a lot of southpaws? It is New Zealand. Sundar has already performed well against this team,” Chopra said.
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“If we want to make a change in the spin unit, we can play Sundar in place of Kuldeep. There is no hard and fast rule that you have to stick with the same team. If there is any change to be made tactically, then replacing Kuldeep with Sundar is the only change I will make,” Chopra added.
Kuldeep has played all matches in Champions Trophy 2025 so far but has taken only five wickets. He has also been a tad bit expensive in the tournament. Sundar, on the other hand, has warmed the bench since the start of CT 2025.
