West Indies vs India 2019: Five changes expected in India’s ODI squad

#5 Shreyas Gopal in place of Kuldeep Yadav

Gopal had a dream IPL 2019 (Picture courtesy: iplt20.com/BCCI)

The stocks of Kuldeep Yadav have fallen drastically during the past 4 months. He was left out of the playing XI by Kolkata Knight Riders owing to some poor performances with the ball. In the World Cup as well, he could only pick 6 wickets from 7 matches.

He was subsequently left out of the playing XI as India opted for the leg spin of Yuzvendra Chahal with finger-spinner Ravindra Jadeja. Kuldeep tends to be a bit of a liability if he is not picking up wickets as he is sub-par on the field and not proficient with the bat either. His inclusion in the team prolongs the tail.

Shreyas Gopal can be Kuldeep’s perfect replacement. Gopal had an outstanding IPL 2019 where he picked up some big wickets for the Rajasthan Royals. He is very handy with the bat and can strike some big blows in the death overs. His fielding is also top notch. India may opt to play both Jadeja and Gopal in the future as both of them are of great all-around utility in the field.