World Cup 2019: Three changes India should make for the semi-final against New Zealand

India has been the most dominating side in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. They have topped the league table by winning seven out of the nine matches played by them. It is the only team which has excelled in all the three departments on the field. Rohit Sharma's five centuries and Jasprit Bumrah's economical bowling figures in all the matches have been the most promising aspects of India's brilliant performance in this tournament so far.

With two wins away from clinching their third World Cup, India face a tricky New Zealand capable of causing an upset. Hence, they need to be careful and field a formidable and balanced team to knock the Kiwis out of the World Cup.

Let us have a look at the three changes India should make in the semi-finals against New Zealand.

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#3 Kedar Jadhav in for Dinesh Karthik

India v Afghanistan - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

Kedar Jadhav was dropped in the last two matches of the league stage to provide a suitable chance to Dinesh Karthik in the World Cup. Despite being picked in the starting XI in those matches, Karthik rarely got any chance to bat due to the brilliant performances of the Indian openers. Due to this reason, he has got very little game time under his belt and hence it would not be wise for the team management to play him in a decisive semi-final on Tuesday.

Hence, there is a good chance that Jadhav will play in the semi-final. Further, his performances with the bat have been satisfactory so far in this World Cup. His score of 52 against Afghanistan was crucial for India's victory in that game. His ability to bowl off-spin might come handy for the team as he has a good record against New Zealand, dismissing Kane Williamson and Tom Latham twice.

#2 Yuzvendra Chahal in for Ravindra Jadeja

West Indies v India - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

India should go back to their tried and tested spin combination of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav for the semi-final against New Zealand. These two-spinners work perfectly in tandem and hence tend to pose dangers to the opposition batsmen with their wrist spin. Ravindra Jadeja, on the other hand, has also performed reasonably well with the limited opportunity which has been offered to him in this World Cup.

The pitch at Old Trafford which has bounce and spin could be one of the reasons for the Indian team management to revert to the leg-spinner who likes to toss the ball and hence would get a good purchase out of the wicket. Also like other non-subcontinental teams, New Zealand is not known to play leg-spin well, and therefore there is a good chance that they might struggle to play Chahal at Manchester on Tuesday.

#1 Mohammed Shami in for Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bangladesh v India - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

The decision of the team management to play the fit Bhuvneshwar Kumar in India's last league game against Sri Lanka was ineffective. He was lackluster and was inconsistent with his line and length. His figures of 1/73 were not satisfactory to merit a place in the starting XI at Manchester. Further, he was also unable to swing the ball to a great extent in that match.

The Indian team management should seriously ponder about replacing him with the in-form Mohammed Shami, who has picked up fourteen wickets in just four matches at an impressive average of 13.79. Though he is a little expensive death overs, Shami bowls with a good seam position and is a partnership breaker in the middle overs.

Hence, it would be a good choice on the part of the team management to pick Shami ahead of Bhuvneshwar on Tuesday.