India's unbeaten run in the 2019 World Cup ended on Sunday. The Virat Kohli-led side lost to England at Birmingham by 31 runs, but are still comfortably placed in the points table to qualify for the semi-finals. However, they have a lot of questions to answer and issues to address before the game.
Though the margin of defeat was only 31 runs against England, India never looked like chasing the target. With two games remaining, India needs a win to cement their place in the semi-finals. India next play Bangladesh today at Edgbaston and Kohli is expected to make a change or two for the game. Here are two changes that India should be making:
#1 Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Ravindra Jadeja in place of Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav has been struggling since the start of IPL 2019. He was poor for KKR and hasn't been at his best in the World Cup. He was targeted by England batsmen in the last game and went for a lot of runs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered a hamstring injury in the game against Pakistan on June 16 and has been sidelined ever since. However, he is fit to make a comeback into the team. “Bhuvneshwar is fit to play. He was fit to play against England as well,” Sanjay Bangar told reporters at the pre-match conference.
Jadeja is also an option if India wants to retain two spinners in the bowling attack.
#2 Dinesh Karthik for Kedar Jadhav
Questions were raised about Kedar Jadhav's place in the playing XI and though he hasn't done anything wrong in the tournament, he wasn't spectacular either. He struggled to up the ante in the game against England and Virat Kohli does not use him as a bowler regularly either.
A dynamic player like Dinesh Karthik could bring a lot more fire-power to the Indian batting lineup. Karthik has the ability to play a long innings and at the same time, can also finish games with his explosive hitting. He has proved it in the past and deserves a chance to play.
Also see – India vs Sri Lanka head to head stats
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