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'Can go a bit harder at the top': Michael Vaughan suggests two changes for India for series decider
India vs England: For the decider, Michael Vaughan has suggested India to make a couple of changes.
With the series on the line, India and England are looking to inflict on each other the final blow of this long tour. In the absence of Eoin Morgan, Joe Root and Jofra Archer, one would believe England have done exceptionally well to hit back after the defeat in the first ODI with a convincing win in the second to level the series. But as the decider looms on Sunday, a wounded India will have looked for all possible ways to make it a trifecta of wins.
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Michael Vaughan, who predicted a 3-0 whitewash for India ahead of the ODI series, would have been left pleasantly surprised with England's fightback in the second ODI. And hence, for the decider, the former India captain has suggested India to make a couple of changes.
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"I guess it depends on how much the teams put on this one game and a series victory. Are they that desperate for the team to win that they may risk Hardik Pandya bowling? We don’t know how bad his body is right now. I’d bring in Natarajan, the left-armer. Washington Sundar for [Kuldeep] Yadav as well so you pack your batting and you can go a bit harder at the top," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
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Wrist-spinner Kuldeep had had a woeful last two games, going for 0/68 and 0/84 respectively. As for T Natarajan, the bowler he can replace is Shardul Thakur, considering how well Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Prasidh Krishna have bowled despite going for runs in the previous T20I. Prasidh, in two matches, has picked up a combined six wickets and was the best Indian bowler on display during the carnage inflicted by England on Friday night.
Vaugh weighed in on England’s team combination, believing Mark Wood, provided fit, should come in place for the expensive Tom Curran. The second change Vaughan is slightly in favour of is keeping Adil Rashid out for fellow leg-spinner Matthew Parkinson.
"Mark Wood may get a mention if his body is fine. He may come in for Tom Curran. I thought Reece Topley was very good. They would have wanted to give Parkinson a go but I don’t know if they’ll thrown him in for a game. It depends how much importance they put on this one-off decider," Vaughan added.
"If it’s about developing the team for two years’ time then I would throw him in. ‘Rashid is one of the players that England will find very difficult to replace. He’s an unbelievable performer so they need to find games for Parkinson or another leg-spinner just in case Rashid doesn’t make it to the next [50-over] World Cup."
