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Kuldeep Yadav For Varun Chakravarthy For Ind-NZ T20 WC Final? 2011 World Cup Winner Suggests Change in Playing XI

Ankit Banerjee | March 8, 2026 5:19 PM CST

Ind-NZ T20 WC Final: There is a massive debate over should the Indian team make changes to their winning XI for the T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi stadium or stick to the same side. While most reckon that one should not tinker with the winning combination at this point in time, former India cricketer Munaf Patel felt otherwise.

? KULDEEP YADAV — LOCKED FOR INDvNZ T20 WC FINAL !! ?

SuryaKumar yadav :- “We aren't worried about Varun , Changes likely we will see tomorrow before match starts” ( press conference)

— Most probably Kuldeep yadav replace Varun in T20 WC FINAL

pic.twitter.com/hcovz9qRR6
— Kiara (@crickiara) March 7, 2026

Patel feels that Kuldeep Yadav should replace Varun Chakravarthy. Kuldeep has featured in only one game in India's T20 WC campaign. Kuldeep played the crucial game against arch-rivals Pakistan in Colombo.

Varun's Nightmarish Cup

World's No. 1 T20 bowler Varun Chakravarthy has not had the best of campaigns at the T20 World Cup. India's trump card with the ball, Chakravarthy's last four games have been poor. Averaging 46.25, he has conceded runs at over 12 per over - which is not good considering his class and potential. He was taken to the cleaners by the English side in the semi-final where he conceded 64 runs in his stipulated four overs.

In the meanwhile, former India cricketer Ravi Ashwin has asked captain Suryakumar Yadav not to bowl Chakravarthy inside the powerplay.

It would be interesting to see if the management opts to break the winning combination. It is a call that is bound to give headaches to the thinktank ahead of a big final.

Munaf Patel's Probable XI

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.