India's Possible Playing XI For 5th T20I vs New Zealand: Gautam Gambhir Urged To Bring This Star Back

With the series win wrapped up, India could choose to field some different faces in the fifth T20I against New Zealand on Sunday. While the likes of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be seeking another opportunity after being left out for the fourth T20I, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that a different bowler could come into the playing XI at Hamilton. Kaif stated that India could play a spinner instead of a fast bowler, and suggested that in this case, Varun Chakravarthy would be more likely to play than Kuldeep Yadav.

"Axar Patel is set. He will not be removed. He brings balance. He is the only spinner in the XI. So, he will be backed. In India, Varun is ahead of Kuldeep for that extra spinner role. Varun and Axar will play," said Kaif, speaking on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda.

"Maybe one fast bowler will be out. Either Mayank or Prince. So if a spinner has to come in, it will be in place of either Mayank or Prince," he added.

With nearly all the games proving to be extremely high-scoring affairs, Kaif opined that Chakravarthy could also help in controlling the flow of runs.

"I feel they can stop the run flow if Varun plays. He has a fifer in South Africa. All fast bowlers are getting hit. So why not play Varun? You have a proven match-winner in him. Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner have done well and picked wickets. Varun has that ability too," he elaborated.

India's other dilemmas

With Sanju Samson potentially not taking the gloves, the door could open for him to be rested and for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to come back in.

Shivam Dube could also feature, having not played in the series so far. He could replace either Nitish Reddy or Naman Dhir.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar could also come back in, as India may shake up the pace unit after conceding 259 in the previous game.

India's Possible Playing XI, 5th T20I vs New Zealand: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.

Featured Video Of The Day

Spain Vs Argentina | Dani Olmo On WC Triumph: 'Wanted To Set An Example For The Next Generation'