'Shamsi is one bowler who will go for sweeps' - Ravichandran Ashwin highlights chink is South Africa's armor ahead of T20 World Cup Final

All eyes are on Team India (IND) and South Africa (SA) as they face each other in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024, at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, on (Saturday) June 29. Both teams have remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and the final has turned out to be a tussle between giants. Ahead of the impending clash, India spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin has suggested the Proteas drop their star spinner, Tabraiz Shamsi. 

Shamsi was clinical with his performance in the semifinal against West Indies but he carries a fear of leaking runs whenever he is deployed in the middle overs. Ashwin’s suggestions stem from the same aspect and he also hinted that Indian batters will take Shamsi to the cleaners. He instead advised the team to opt for pacer, Ottneil Baartman in the playing eleven.

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"Shamsi is one bowler who will go for sweeps. And India has been sweeping. Adil Rashid, (Liam) Livingstone was slightly quicker through the area. They were able to get 39 runs along with Jordan and Sam Curran. I see this as a very important match-up. And hence, I believe South Africa should seriously consider playing (Ottniel) Baartman ahead of Shamsi for the final," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

As far as I am concerned, if Shamsi is playing I will be damn happy: Uthappa

Joining the drop Shamsi bandwagon is the former India cricketer, Robin Uthappa. Uthappa too was critical of the induction of the leg-spinner and showed pleasure in having Shamis in the playing XI from the Indian team's perspective. He also added that even if the spinner grabs the wicket, his leakage of 40-50 runs will do a lot of good to the Indian team.

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"As far as I am concerned, if Shamsi is playing, I will be damn happy, especially in Barbados. And if Baartman is playing, I will be like, we have to be a little wary. Who would I prefer between these two? Definitely, Shamsi. I know that he will give runs. Even if he takes a wicket, I don't care. If he takes 40-45-50 runs, I am done. Because in India's current batting approach, even if he takes a wicket, it's not a big deal," Uthappa added.