Is Kuldeep Yadav playing today's IND vs AFG Super 8 match of 2024 T20 World Cup?

Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav is set to play his first game for India in the ongoing T20 World Cup at the start of their Super 8 phase against Afghanistan in Barbados on Thursday, June 20. He has replaced pacer Mohammed Siraj as India decided to stick with the left-arm variety of Arshdeep Singh alongside Jasprit Bumrah.

The move always seemed to be on the cards as captain Rohit Sharma had been vocal about him wanting four spinners in the 15-man squad. He believes the moisture in the morning games in the West Indies could bring the spinners into play and that's exactly what he would be expecting in Barbados.

India's XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.

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Rahul Dravid had already hinted at India playing Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid had addressed the press on the eve of the game against Afghanistan and had hinted at the possibility of the Men in Blue playing with the extra spin option because of the change in conditions.

While the conditions in New York warranted India going in with three proper pace options and Hardik Pandya as the fourth seamer, Dravid had stated that Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal might play in Barbados. He said:

"It's tough to leave anyone out. New York had pace bowlers conditions... slightly different. We might need something different here (in Barbados). Yuzi (Chahal) or Kuldeep (Yadav) could be used here. We are lucky to have players with all-round abilities. We had eight batters but we (also) had seven bowling options."

Dravid stressed the importance of flexibility in the batting order and it will be interesting to see if the Men in Blue have that on display against Afghanistan.