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Former Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan believes that having two spinners in India’s playing XI will be enough in the upcoming World Cup and is against forcing a third specialist spinner. India have named three left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel and wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in their World Cup squad. Muralidharan told PTI, “You cannot play three spinners just for the sake of variety. You can field only two spinners. Jadeja will play as an all-rounder and will be accompanied by another spinner.
Muralitharan, who is the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket with 800 wickets, feels that having Jadeja and Kuldeep in the playing XI would be an ideal combination. “You have to look at what the right combination is,” he said. If he plays with Jadeja and Kuldeep, it will be a good combination.” There has been a lot of talk about not keeping Yuzvendra Chahal in the squad but Muralidharan called it the right decision as Kuldeep and Axar Patel are in good form. He said, “I don’t know about the current form of Ravichandran Ashwin and Chahal. Don’t judge T20 by form because T20 and ODI are two different formats. You also have to see that Kuldeep and Akshar have performed better than Chahal.
Muralidharan said, “I don’t have any problem with having an experienced player but Chahal is playing domestic cricket. If not then how can you select him? Muralidharan also said that the Indian batsman Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma I still have a lot of cricket left in me. He said, “They (Kohli and Rohit) are two of the best players in India and they can still play for some time. Why are you saying this will be his last competition?”
Muralidharan said, “Virat is only 34 years old and can play international cricket for the next five years. Rohit is 36 years old. The media cannot say that these two are in the final stages of their careers. Let them decide if they have enough cricket left. Muralitharan believes Asian teams will benefit from favorable conditions at the World Cup compared to the last two-time champions Australia and England.
He said, “In our situation, Asian teams are better than these two teams. Circumstances matter. You are not playing in England or New Zealand but in India. Asian countries will have a good chance to win the title.” Said the veteran spinner, “Every team has its own weak and strong side. No one can predict the World Cup. All the teams are good but if you ask India will have a better chance of winning the title due to playing in its home conditions.