Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah ignored as Saandeep Singh names the Indian player who will destroy South Africa

Updated - 29 Jun 2024, 12:26 PM

Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah
Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah (Credits: X)

Former India Off-spinner Sarandeep Singh has backed Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav to trap the South Africans with their spin in the ICC T20 WC 2024 final. 

India and South Africa are all set to lock horns against each other for the first time at an ICC finale when they feature in the final match of the T20 World Cup. This will be both of the team's first meeting in the 2024 edition, which is being co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA. In their previous T20 WC meeting 2 years ago in Australia, the Proteas had defeated Rohit Sharma's Men in Blue.

During the previous edition's Semi-final, England had beaten India by 10 wickets before winning the competition. Last year, the Aussies clinched back-to-back ICC titles, beating Rohit Sharma and co. both times in the final. Every revenge - be it against the English team or the Australian team, has been taken and now it's time for the Men in Blue to settle the scores with South Africa. 

The Indians have previously defeated South Africa once in a knockout match during the 2014 Bangladesh edition's SF in Dhaka. Virat Kohli was the star of that match, thanks to his 70+ knock which had taken India to their first T20 World Cup final since 2007. All eyes are going to be on Kohli once again as he loves to score runs and prove a point against the Proteas. 

But Kohli isn't going to be the only threat for the Africans. Sarandeep Singh, who played for India from 2000 to 2003, feels that India's spin battery of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja are also going to make a difference, especially the former two. 

Sarandeep Singh says Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav compliment each other 

While speaking to media reporters, Sarandeep Singh claimed that Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are unplayable and they are the World's best duo. Sarandeep highlighted Kuldeep and Axar's desolation of opposing batting orders and claimed that the Chinaman is going to destroy the South African middle order. 

"We have the world's best spinners at the moment. Look at the way Kuldeep and Axar have performed, they are winning all the games. They are unplayable. Kuldeep is going to destroy the South African middle order." - Sarandeep said.

The former Indian cricketer went on to further claim that Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel both complement each other and labeled them as world-class spinners.

Sarandeep praises Axar's game awareness and admits Chahal was not a part of the plan

Lastly, Sarandeep Singh praised Axar Patel for his immaculate game awareness which helped him figure out which areas to bowl. Singh also admitted that Yuzvendra Chahal has never been a part of India's plans and said that Axar is the best slow-bowling option in the powerplay.

"Rohit chose four spinners, but Chahal is not in the scheme of things because others have done their job exceedingly well. Jadeja is the senior-most player but isn't bowling in the powerplay. Axar knows how to bowl in these conditions and is the best option for us in the powerplay. He is delivering results." - Sarandeep Singh concluded.

Tagged:

India National Cricket Team South Africa national cricket team Kuldeep Yadav Axar Patel Sarandeep Singh ICC T20 World Cup India vs South Africa IND vs SA