T20 World Cup Final: Kuldeep Must Replace Varun

Will India leave out the struggling duo of Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy for the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand on Sunday?

India head into Sunday's T20 World Cup final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, seeking to create history by becoming the first team to successfully defend the T20 World title.

Believe it or not! India has never beaten New Zealand in T20 World Cups -- losing all three games played in 2007, 2016 and 2021.

India will feel on top of the world after their commanding batting performance against England in the semi-finals while their experienced pacers came up trumps in the closing stages of a high-scoring game.

While the conventional wisdom says never change a winning combination, the Indian team management will have to seriously ponder a couple of changes to their team for the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand on Sunday.

There are two big areas of concern for the high-flying Indian team. Abhishek Sharma is struggling to rediscover his form with the bat even as Sanju Samson has turned around his batting to become India's new hero with the bat.

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy is another key player, whose poor show with the ball has hurt India big time in the last few games. Amazingly, despite Chakravarthy's below-par showing since the Super 8s stage, Kuldeep Yadav continues to warm the bench in the dressing room.

India won't forget the fact that despite scoring a mammoth 253/7, they had some anxious moments with the bat as England ran them very close, finishing on 246/7 in their 20 overs to lose by seven runs.

For the fourth match in a row, Chakravarthy struggled with the ball. He was taken apart by the England batters, going for 64 runs from his four overs while managing just one wicket to register his worst bowling figures in T20 Internationals.

His first three balls were hit for consecutive sixes by Jacob Bethell in the sixth over and he never really recovered after that opening onslaught as he went for runs in all of his four overs.

India were saved in the end overs because of an excellent performance from the experienced pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, which halted England's charge towards an unlikely victory.

It has been a big struggle for Chakravarthy to rediscover his bowling form after he was taken apart by the South African batters in the first match of the Super 8s. He has been hit for runs in all the matches since then.

Chakravarthy has picked just four wickets in the last four games, while conceding runs at an economy rate of 11.62.

As England Captain Harry Brook stated after the match they had specifically targetted the struggling Chakravarthy.

'We identified that Chakravarthy is bowling probably short and Bethell put him away early on and as every bowler does, he tried to go a bit fuller and he hit him for a six back over his head.'

Former spinner Harbhajan Singh pointed out that Chakravarthy is struggling with his control. 'Besides the higher speeds, he is not able to find the right length. It is either too short or too full,' he told PTI.

Kuldeep Deserves To Be Back!

In such a situation it would be a no-brainer to recall Kuldeep, who hasn't played since the match against Pakistan on February 15, 2026, where he registered tidy figures of 1/14 in three overs.

Kuldeep also has the experience of big match situations, as he showed in the T20 World Cup in 2024, with 10 wickets in five matches. In the Asia Cup last year too, he had starred in India's triumph with 17 wickets from seven matches at an economy rate of 6.28, comfortably outshining Chakravarthy, who claimed seven wickets in six games at an economy rate of 6.50.

Kuldeep has played eight T20Is against New Zealand in nine years, in which he has taken nine wickets at an economy rate of 7.64. On the other hand, Chakravarthy has taken four wickets in four matches against the Kiwis with an economy rate of 8.19.

With New Zealand having as many as four right-handers in their top six, Kuldeep could turn out to be India's secret weapon in the middle overs irrespective of the conditions.

Will India Drop Abhishek?

Similarly, it is time for Abhishek to be shown the door. A highly-rated player like Sanju Samson was also made to spend time on the sidelines when he struggled for runs and the same must be applicable to Abhishek as well.

Unlike the earlier rounds, this time the World Cup trophy is at stake and another failure for Abhishek would once again pile extra burden on the in-form Samson. The young left-hander has managed just 89 runs in seven matches in the T20 World Cup, including three ducks.

Samson has been a major contributor in the last two games with knocks of a 50-ball 97 against the West Indies and a 42-ball 89 against England, scoring nearly 50 percent of India's total in both games.

India can revert to the same formula which they tried earlier with a bit of change. If Abhishek is dropped, Ishan Kishan could move up the order to open with Samson, with Tilak Varma shifting to No 3 which would free up space for either Rinku Singh or Washington Sundar down the order.

Rinku is effective with the bat in the death overs, boasting of a strike rate of 155.73 -- 665 runs in 45 matches -- in T20 internationals, having majorly batted at No 6 or lower. However, he barely has had any time in the middle in this T20 World Cup which could go against him, having faced 29 balls so far in which he had scored 24 runs.

On the other hand, Sundar is equally rusty with two matches in the tournament, scoring 11 from 11 balls faced, while bowling six overs without any wickets. However, his all-round ability does tilt the scales in favour as far as his selection battle with Rinku is concerned.

But it won't be a surprise if India do decide to back their struggling stars for one more game and hope they come good in the big game. Coach Gautam Gambhir is known to back his players to the hilt, a case in point being Samson, whom he kept in the scheme of things despite his struggles in the New Zealand series in January ahead of Shubman Gill.

New Zealand would be all fired up after their thumping victory against South Africa in the semi-finals. The explosive Finn Allen will pose a big threat for the Indian bowlers after his record-breaking 33-ball century against South Africa. His opening partner Tim Seifert is equally destructive in the Powerplay, having amassed 274 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 161.17 with three fifties.

Glenn Phillips is another dangerman with the bat with his ability to hit the spinners out of the park, while they also have a lot of capable batting options in the lower order including Mitchell Santner, James Neesham and Cole McConchie.

Captain Santner will play a big role with the ball as well in keeping things in check in the middle overs, boasting of an impressive career economy rate of 7.21 for 137 wickets in 134 T20Is.

A big surprise has been the performance from Rachin Ravindra with the ball, with his part-time spin fetching him 11 wickets from eight games, including nine in the last three games against Sri Lanka, England and South Africa.

Matt Henry, with his ability to strike early wickets with the new ball, will be the one to watch out for as far as the Indian openers are concerned.

Overall, India enjoy a positive head to head record against New Zealand with 18 wins from 30 matches. However, the big positive for the Kiwis is that they have won all three T20 World Cup matches played against the Indians.

India Vs New Zealand: Head-To-Head Records

Probable XI: Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar/Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

Should India drop Abhishek and Chakravarthy? Does Kuldeep deserve to play in the final?

Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand on Sunday?

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• T20 World Cup 2026