Reeling from their respective losses to Pakistan, India will take on New Zealand Sunday in the ongoing T20 World Cup as both teams will look to register their first wins of the Super 12 stage. New Zealand and India are placed fourth and fifth on the points table, respectively, just above Scotland in the Group 2 that also includes Pakistan, Afghanistan and Namibia.

Ahead of their game against New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium in UAE, there has been a lot of speculation regarding who would make it to Team India’s playing XI.

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Former India batsman-turned-commentator VVS Laxman feels that India should replace longtime pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar with bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur against New Zealand to add depth to their batting line-up.

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“I would go for Shardul Thakur because Shardul can give runs with the bat, and he’s a wicket-taking option. It also increases the depth in the batting lineup. So, I would definitely go with Shardul ahead of Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar),” Laxman said on Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’.

Laxman said Shardul was not only an experienced bowler, but should also be given a chance on account of “the balance and the combination” of the playing eleven. “I would probably prefer Shardul over Bhuvi,” he said.

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 25 runs from his three overs against Pakistan. Shardul Thakur was the joint third-highest wicket-taker in the Indian Premier League (IPL) season with 21 scalps. There are also chances that youngster Ishan Kishan could come into the side after his quickfire 70 for India in the T20 World Cup warm-up match against England. Some experts have also called for the inclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin and Varun Chakravarthy in the playing side as this would reinforce India’s spin attack.

In the other Group 2 match on Sunday, Afghanistan will take on Namibia.