T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar dismisses Chakraborty’s form-related concerns, but ‘doubts’ over his place in the eleven

Ahmedabad. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav on Saturday dismissed concerns over Varun Chakraborty’s form but speculations about the ‘mystery’ spinner’s place in the playing eleven ahead of Sunday’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final against New Zealand are not stopping. With Kuldeep Yadav present as a substitute, the discussion on team combination continues. However, the captain clearly said that there is no concern about Chakraborty’s form within the team.

Suryakumar said, “There are no worries about Chakraborty’s form. We have won matches with collective effort and when you are winning matches, there is no need to think much. If there are 11 players in the team, not everyone will perform well every day. There are ups and downs and the rest of the players make up for that.” The Indian captain said, “I am not worried about Chakraborty. He is the number one bowler in the world. He knows how to raise his game in big moments and help his team win. I am sure he will help us win the final as well.”

However, during the team’s practice session, there was no clear indication that Chakraborty’s place in the team was confirmed. This spinner from Tamil Nadu practiced in the nets under the supervision of bowling coach Morne Morkel. During this, Suryakumar, head coach Gautam Gambhir and selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar were seen standing near the pitch and talking at a short distance. After bowling practice, Chakraborty sat on a blue ice box and started watching the practice of other players. Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak Verma were bowling one by one in the nearby net.

The discussion about Chakraborty’s place in the tournament is also going on because till now he has given runs at the rate of almost nine runs per over. During this period, he had given away 64 runs against England in the semi-finals. However, including Kuldeep in his place is not considered an easy decision. The wrist spinner has played only one match in the tournament so far and his record against New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell has not been good in ODIs.

The same situation has been seen with Glenn Phillips as well, which makes the selection equation more complex for India. When Suryakumar was asked whether India could make changes in the team for the title match, he replied with a smile, “See for yourself tomorrow. It seems you want to know everything today itself.”