'Kuldeep may come in to provide that extra bit of wicket-taking flair' - Stephen Fleming on India's spin combination in Super 8

As the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 moves into the crucial Super Eight stage, all eyes are on the Indian team's strategy against the other heavyweights. Former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming has weighed in on India's spin bowling options, emphasizing the importance of picking the right combination to suit the conditions in the Caribbean.

The Men in Blue booked their place in the Super Eight alongside the United States, topping Group A. They now find themselves in a group with Australia, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. With pitches in the West Indies expected to help spinners, Fleming believes India's sought-after spin attack could be their biggest weapon.

“Yeah, I think so but they've still got that opportunity now to do both which is good, and horses for courses, you can't be so set in one way of playing that you miss the opportunities to take advantage of conditions as you say but yeah," Fleming said while speaking exclusively to the 'ESPNCricinfo Timeout show.

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I would think maybe Kuldeep would come in: Stephen Fleming

The former New Zealand cricketer suggested that wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav could come into the playing XI to provide some wicket-taking flair if the surfaces offer substantial turn. 

"I would think maybe Kuldeep would come in to provide that extra bit of wicket-taking flair if the wickets do provide the turn as they get a little bit more used and you get closer to the end of the tournament," Fleming added.

India's dilemma lies in balancing their spin options of Kuldeep, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel. While playing four spinners is a bold move that could restrict run-scoring, it also weakens the pace attack. Fleming offered a pragmatic view on the possibility of fielding two left-arm spinning all-rounders in Jadeja and Axar. 

"I don't think so, sometimes it's hard to manage two players to do the same thing, Mitchell Santner and Ravindra Jadeja sort of do the same role for us in CSK and we sometimes find it hard around the selection to get eight overs of the same skill set, they are different bowlers, they bowl differently but both of them when conditions are right can be a real handful," he further said.

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The 51-year-old believes that apart from bowling both Jadeja and Axar play a huge role in giving that extra depth with their batting. He also emphasized the preconceived notion about left-hand bowlers not being able to bowl against left-hand batters

"So with their all-round skills and their batting skills, it allows India to try that and Jadeja in the right conditions can be incredibly dangerous which we've seen over many years, as Axar can provide a different type of attack where conditions are slightly different like in New York. So, there are subtleties around them both but again, and I hate that notion of left-handers can't bowl to left-hand batters so we can dispel that myth and both of those players can hopefully play along," Fleming concluded.