World Cup 2019: Sachin Tendulkar suggests to include Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI against New Zealand

What's the story?

Sachin Tendulkar has suggested to make two changes in the Indian side for their upcoming semi-final match against New Zealand. India is all set to battle the Kiwis tomorrow at 3 PM IST at the Old Trafford in Manchester. The legendary Indian cricketer wants Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami in the match squad in place of Dinesh Karthik and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The background

After topping the points table, India is now all set to fight against the mighty New Zealand side in the first semi-final of the tournament. These two teams met during a warm-up game of the tournament which ended in New Zealand’s favor. The league match between these 2 nations was washed out because of rain. Referring to the current form, the Indian side has the upper hand as they topped the points table while New Zealand just sneaked into the top 4 on the back of their superior net run rate.

The heart of the matter

Sachin Tendulkar took part in an interview with India Today, where he preferred to have the all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the team instead of the middle-order batsman, Dinesh Karthik. He also wanted to have Mohammed Shami back in the playing XI. He stated to India Today that:

Jadeja is one option I would like to throw on the table to the team management. I feel if Dinesh Karthik is going to bat at No. 7 then possible Jadeja could be an option there because his left-arm spin can come in handy. In a big match, you would want a cover-up because we are playing just 5 bowlers.

Sachin further added that he would be tempted to bring back Mohammed Shami because he performed well versus West Indies on the same venue. He glorified Shami’s good record at Old Trafford and concluded that he should be in the team.

What's next?

It will be interesting to see who Virat Kohli picks for the all-important semi-final against New Zealand.

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