Dubai, March 3 (IANS) Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes the Rohit Sharma-led side should field an unchanged playing eleven for their all-important semi-final clash against Australia in Dubai, citing that they have experienced the conditions in their 44-run win over New Zealand.
India set up a semi-final showdown against Australia, scheduled for Tuesday, after beating New Zealand by 44 runs in the final Group A game of the 2025 Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium. Tuesday’s semi-final will be India’s first meeting against Australia in an ICC 50-over knockout game after the 2023 ODI World Cup final, which Rohit & Co. lost in Ahmedabad.
“I think I would go with the same eleven now because the turnaround time is less than 48 hours. The square is a little tired at the moment; people have run on the pitch that is going to be used the day after, so the spinners will again come into play,” said Shastri in an ICC video posted on their Instagram.
In Sunday’s game, India fielded four spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy on the slow Dubai pitch against New Zealand. The quartet took nine wickets overall, with Chakaravarthy being the standout bowler with 5-42 in his ten overs, which is now the best bowling figure in the ongoing eight-team tournament.
Shastri also applauded India for unleashing Chakaravarthy at the right time in the competition. “If you see his current form, and I always believe in current form – it’s vital and when you look at his body language, his self-confidence and his own ability and when you look at oppositions like New Zealand, Australia, South Africa that are left in this tournament, not many sides have played too much of him or seen enough of him.”
“Very impressed with him, and full marks to the think tank and the team management for making the right choice because he’s someone who will get you wickets in the middle overs. It’s the right time to unleash him. They brought him into the side; he’s got a five-wicket haul, and I think he’s there to stay.”
Shastri also felt a total in the vicinity of 240-250 on batting first in Dubai will be a challenging one in Tuesday’s semi-final clash. “So if you bat first, put anything over 240-250, it’s going to be very competitive in a big game like a semi-final,” he concluded.
–IANS
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