IND vs NZ: In less than 24 hours, the title-deciding clash of the marquee men’s ICC tournament of the year will commence at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India are into their fourth consecutive ICC white-ball tournament final; they won the last two, but this streak’s beginning was a nightmarish one as they lost the 2023 World Cup final to Australia, incidentally at the same venue where they will take on New Zealand in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
India are no more the heavy favorites. They have had a scratchy tournament, where they conceded a loss to South Africa in Ahmedabad and escaped by close margins against the West Indies and England.
New Zealand had had a cagey tournament, too, until the Super 8s, where they sat ahead of Pakistan only on net run rate. But Finn Allen and Tim Seifert’s monstrous opening stand blew away South Africa in the semi-final as the Kiwis put on a daunting performance.
IND vs NZ: With Varun Chakravarthy out of form, and perhaps even out of ideas, should or will India drop him from the XI for the final?
For India, apart from the qualms about their temperament and over-reliance on Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir also have a tough decision to tackle: Should they drop Varun Chakravarthy for the all-important final?
At the start of the tournament, excluding Chakravarthy from the playing XI would have been a blasphemous question. Now, though, there are merits to this.
With 13 wickets, Chakravarthy is the joint-highest wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup 2026 so far. He is still the No. 1 ranked ICC T20I bowler.
However, his form in recent times has been concerning. Since the start of the Super 8 round, Chakravarthy has taken only four wickets in four matches at an average of 46.50 and at a significantly worrying economy rate of 11.62 runs per over.
In the semi-final against England, Jacob Bethell and others stuck into him, carting Chakravarthy for 64 runs in his four overs, his costliest returns in a T20I match.
Chakravarthy seems to lose his length when he gets hit for a boundary or two – a sign of panic and lack of confidence in one’s processes that got him rewards earlier.
India do have options on the bench with justified reasonings:
Kuldeep Yadav played one game in the tournament – against Pakistan where he returned with figures of 1/14 in three overs. He brings the X-factor, as does Varun, but he is not under pressure to justify his place in the side or out of form.
But a more compelling case for Chakravarthy’s potential replacement could be made by Mohammed Siraj. It has been learned that the IND vs NZ T20 World Cup final will be played on a pitch that is a mix of red and black soil and will be of a similar nature to the surface on which India and England played their semifinal. It means that a high-scoring final is on the cards.
In such a scenario, a fast bowler like Siraj, who got 3/29 against the USA in Mumbai in his only match in the competition, could prove to be effective.
Washington Sundar is also a tactical alternative, given New Zealand could have four left-handed batsmen in their potential top eight.
IND vs NZ: Will India Drop Varun Chakravarthy For The Final Against New Zealand In Ahmedabad?
Chakravarthy’s underwhelming form over the past month, and in particular since the Super 8 stage, could go against his selection. It seems less likely that India will drop a match-winning spinner for a big game such as the T20 World Cup final.
Sundar’s inclusion is unlikely, but don’t put it past Gambhir-SKY to drop Chakravarthy for either Kuldeep or Siraj. Even vice-captain and in-form all-rounder Axar Patel was dropped from the XI in the Super 8.
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