Kuldeep will be India's X-factor in the middle overs in Champions Trophy: Raina

New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) Former India all-rounder Suresh Raina believes left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav will be the side’s X-factor in middle overs with the ball in the upcoming Champions Trophy games in Dubai.

Since January 2023, India have picked 186 wickets in overs 11-40, and that’s generally been the phase where Kuldeep has bamboozled the batters. On Saturday, Kuldeep, who’s not played any competitive cricket since his hernia surgery in November, was included in India’s squads for ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy.

With uncertainty over Jasprit Bumrah’s participation and Mohammed Shami himself returning from an Achilles injury, a lot will depend on Kuldeep, who has 172 wickets in 106 ODIs, to weave his magic in the middle overs for India in the three matches against England and the eight-team Champions Trophy starting on February 19.

The good news, though, is that Kuldeep has been bowling at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and is building up well to achieve full-match fitness. Raina, a member of India winning the 2013 Champions Trophy, also feels Hardik Pandya’s seam bowling will be of importance in middle overs.

"From the way you will look at it, Arshdeep will be the key along with Bumrah, who will be very lethal when it comes to death overs as well. But the most important role here will be of Hardik Pandya, like will he come to bowl with Kuldeep? Moreover, will Washington Sundar or Axar Patel play?

"I feel that Arshdeep, Shami, Bumrah, Hardik, Kuldeep and Axar or Jadeja (will be the initial bowling combination), as you can increase the batting, especially with top five batters there. Hardik can be used as a floater, with Rishabh Pant capable of batting well.

"But the most important player in the middle who can bring a little bit of pressure will be Kuldeep Yadav. We all remember how he castled Babar Azam and changed the game. Right now, he is working very hard at the NCA and he also has that skill of deceiving batters with a very different type of action.

"We do need to praise Rohit Sharma for the way he’s backed Kuldeep Yadav. We did have a mystery spinner in Varun Chakaravarthy during the T20 World Cup there in 2021 in Dubai. But Kuldeep Yadav has that stillness, different action and bowls in a very different way. So, I think the X-factor in middle-overs bowling will be Kuldeep Yadav," said Raina while replying to a question from IANS in the Star Sports press room show.

For the ODIs against England, set to happen in Nagpur, Cuttack and Ahmedabad on February 6, 9 and 12, respectively, seam-bowling Harshit Rana is in the Indian team as a cover for Bumrah, who will not be ready for the first two matches of the bilateral series.

With doubts still over Bumrah, who hasn’t bowled since back spasms didn’t allow him to bowl in the second innings of the Sydney Test, Raina stated Rana is a promising player but felt India will be better off having Mohammed Siraj in the squad if the fast-bowling spearhead isn’t fit.

“Harshit Rana has good pace, good bumper, variation, yorker and pace, as seen from the Test matches he played in Australia. He’s young and brings something new to the table, while we all saw the different pace and angles he brought in for KKR in IPL. He and both Arshdeep Singh can bowl at the death. But I still feel Siraj is a better option if Bumrah is not fit," he said.

India, the two-time Champions Trophy winners, will begin their Group A campaign in Dubai against Bangladesh on February 20, after which they play against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23, before facing New Zealand on March 2.