‘I’ll have two proper wrist spinners…’: Irfan Pathan picks Kuldeep, Bishnoi in his T20 WC team

) As the May 1 deadline looms for teams to finalise their squads for the Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA, starting from June 1, former India bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan picked wrist-spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav in his playing XI for the showpiece event alongside finger spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian line-up.

Irfan emphasised taking five wicket-taking options in the Indian lineup with two proper wrist spinners and two fast bowlers, accompanying star pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

“You need five good bowlers. That’s a must. What are your wicket-taking options? Like, when you’re talking about Ravindra Jadeja, as a playing at, batting at number 8 and playing as a spin, I would rather have two wrist spinners playing. I would rather have two proper wrist spinners playing, Bishnoi and Kuldeep, in my playing 11. If you look at Bishnoi’s numbers, you know, when he played as well, he was pretty good,” Irfan said on Star Sports Press Room Show, Ticket to World Cup.

“Yes, we’re talking about Chahal right now, because of the IPL performances and everything, but don’t forget the fielding part of it as well. If you have to balance the fielding, you have to balance the, you know, where a bowler can bowl at the particular area. So, you have to think on that as well. So, in my team, if 8, 9, 10, 11, two spinners, two fast bowlers are playing, and if Dube and Hardik can give me four overs, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, as a, you know, one more bowler there, so I’ll have two proper wrist spinners,” he said.

The 39-year-old further said that the Indian team could potentially slot Jadeja into the number 7 position adding that the selectors need to make tough calls in finalising the squad for the mega event in the USA and Caribbean.

“But when you’re talking about what Indian team might do, the Indian team might actually play Ravindra Jadeja at number 7. And I agree with Tom on that front that it’s a bit too high for him. So, this is where the selection is a bit tough, but you need to make tough calls this time around,” Irfan added.

Irfan opined that Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Mohad Siraj will the three pacers be in the World Cup. While highlighting that young Mayank Yadav does not have any experience on the grand stage, the former cricketer said if he were sitting in the selection panel, he would go towards experience.

“I think there’s only one player who you can blindly say is Bumrah. But apart from Bumrah, if you look at it, you need at least two fast bowlers who can be part of the regular eleven. I don’t understand that right now, in terms of performance-wise, that you can blindly say he’s the guy. You’ll have to bank on a little experience. And in that hope, when they played India last time, who did they play? Siraj played that series. In that series, he bowled one or two wickets in two matches. And he had a good economy. He bowled 30 or 36 wickets and gave 40 runs. That was a series in South Africa.

“Arshdeep’s numbers weren’t great in terms of wickets. But now, Arshdeep’s numbers will be better in the IPL. Siraj’s performance hasn’t been that well so far. Now, you’ll still say, you’ll bank a little. So, in my opinion, if I’m sitting in the selection panel, I’ll go towards experience. I’ll say, take Arshdeep with Bumrah. Take Siraj with Bumrah. It’s not an ideal number, but it’s an option. Who else do you have? Khaleel Ahmed is one. You have a player like Mohsin Khan, who brings something different. You should always have an X Factor where you’re a little different in counting,” said Irfan.

“And also, Mayank’s name is very popular. Look, for Mayank, you’ll have to keep one thing in mind. He has pace, but he hasn’t played much cricket. Last year, he was a part of Lucknow Super Giants, but he didn’t play. He was injured. So, do you want to take a guy who has pace, but he’s getting injured again and again? And that’s why I’m not taking Mohsin Khan’s name again and again. Whereas, quality-wise, if you want to take Mohsin Khan, he brings something that will put the pitch on the edge. He has height, he’s good at hitting the deck hard. His pace is around 140, he continued.

“So, if you look here, the biggest problem the Indian team has is the combination of fast bowling. It’s very important to fix that combination. So, go towards experience. So, I think, with Bumrah, you can see Siraj and Arshdeep there. Which I don’t think is ideal, but this is the only option you have now,” Irfan concluded.