"Finally a wrist spinner" - Fans react as Kuldeep Yadav replaces Mohammed Siraj in India's playing XI for 2024 T20 World Cup match vs Afghanistan

Team India spinner Kuldeep Yadav will play his first match of the ongoing 2024 T20 World Cup. The left-arm spinner has been added to the Men in Blue's playing XI for their Super 8 fixture against Afghanistan at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Thursday, June 20.

Kuldeep was benched in India's group-stage matches against Ireland, Pakistan, and the United States of America (USA). It is worth mentioning that the team's final match of the group round against Canada was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to a wet outfield.

India played with three frontline fast bowlers and two spin-bowling all-rounders, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in their group-stage matches in New York. However, with the Super 8 round taking place in the West Indies, the Rahul Dravid-led think tank decided to bring in an additional spinner.

After the toss of the IND vs AFG match, several fans took to social media, expressing their excitement over Kuldeep Yadav's inclusion.

Here are some of the top reactions:

Many fans opined that India made the right move by bringing in Kuldeep, suggesting that he would be a great option in these conditions.

"Kuldeep will be very good option on flat pitches." wrote a fan.

"I think this is the perfect team based on the conditions, right? Axar, Jaddu and Kuldeep can run through any lineup." commented another.

"Finally, Kuldeep Yadav is playing. This bowling combination looks good for West Indies pitches." chimed in yet another.

It is worth mentioning that this will be Kuldeep Yadav's first appearance in a T20 World Cup. He has 59 wickets to his name from 35 T20Is at an economy rate of 6.74.

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Kuldeep Yadav replaced Mohammed Siraj in India's playing XI for the T20 World Cup match against Afghanistan

India made just a single change to their lineup for their game against Afghanistan. Right-arm pacer Mohammed Siraj made way for Kuldeep Yadav.

Rohit Sharma won the toss for India and chose to bat first. Explaining his decision, here's what the Indian captain said at the toss:

"We are going to bat first. Looks alright at this moment, looks a good track. No grass on the pitch, I guess it will get slower. It's better than New York. We have to adapt to the conditions quickly. We have been here for a couple of days, we have played a lot of cricket. It's about understanding what we need to do in conditions like these. It's an early start. Usually start in the evening elsewhere. We enjoy playing here. We have made one change, Kuldeep comes in for Siraj."

Here are the playing XIs for the IND vs AFG clash:

IND: Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah.

AFG: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Fazalhaq Farooqi.