Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull backed Team India to continue with struggling spinner Varun Chakaravarthy and not replace him with Kuldeep Yadav in the T20 World Cup 2026 final in Ahmedabad on March 8. Varun is India’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 13 scalps at an average of 19.07 in eight matches.

However, he picked up nine of those wickets in the first outings and has averaged only a wicket per game since. The bigger worry for India has been Varun’s economy rate, which is 8.85 in the competition and an even worse 11.62 in his last four matches.

Talking about replacing Varun with Kuldeep for the final, Doull told IANS:

“I don’t see any reason to bring as good as Kuldeep is, and he’d probably play for pretty much every other team in the competition if he were part of their country. But I just don’t see India looking to Kuldeep ahead of Varun Chakravarthy in this situation. Thinking back to that series against New Zealand, there were a couple of times when New Zealand took to Kuldeep as well. I just don’t see them changing that at all, and I don’t see Varun Chakravarthy still being that easy to read.”

He added:

“I don’t think Varun Chakravarthy is vulnerable at all. He’s just a superbly talented bowler, and you can watch as many videos as you like, and teams can watch as many replays and slow-motion replays as they like. But you’ve still got to pick it when you’re out there in the heat of the moment and the pressure of the situation.”

Kuldeep Yadav has played only one game in the ongoing T20 World Cup, coming against Pakistan in Colombo.

Simon Doull warns New Zealand about the Jasprit Bumrah threat

Simon Doull warned the New Zealand batters about going after ace Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the T20 World Cup 2026 final. The veteran seamer has been at his supreme best in the tournament, picking up 10 wickets at an average of 15.90 and an economy rate of 6.62 in seven outings.

“He’s not the sort of guy that gives you bad deliveries. If you go chasing him, you can find yourself walking back to the dugout. So I think from New Zealand’s point of view, if you look at the tournament in general, if Bumrah went for 25 to 30 in his four overs and didn’t take a wicket, I think that would be a win for New Zealand,” said Doull to IANS.

He continued:

“Approaching Bumrah in the powerplay is vastly different depending on the game situation. If New Zealand get on top in the first two-three overs, Bumrah might bowl the fourth. If they’re really on top in two overs, he might bowl the third. Generally, if India are going well, they have him bowl the fifth or the sixth over to round the powerplay out or to quieten the opposition down a little bit.”

Bumrah came up with one of his vintage performances in the semifinal against England to help India pull off a seven-run win. In a match that saw both teams amass over 240 runs, the veteran pacer boasted incredible figures of 1/33 in four overs.