T20 World Cup 2021: VVS Laxman says THIS bowler should be in India's playing XI against New Zealand

Former cricketer VVS Laxman said that team India requires Shardul Thakur to form a balanced team for an all-important game against New Zealand in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Laxman also said that he would prefer Shardul Thakur into the playing XI in the place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

India and New Zealand will lock horns against each other in the Super 12 stages of the World Cup on Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both sides will enter the contest after suffering a loss against Pakistan.

"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'.

"He is an experienced bowler, but if you think about the balance and the combination of the playing eleven, I would probably prefer Shardul over Bhuvi," he added.

India has so far played just one game which they ended up losing against Pakistan. Virat Kohli and boys will next take on New Zealand on Sunday evening in Dubai.

Earlier, Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma also said that team India should include Shardul Thakur in the squad instead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the T20 World Cup game against New Zealand.

"As we know that India's bowling attack was quite weak in the match against Pakistan. So, now I think that the team should go for Shardul Thakur in Bhuvi's (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) place and Ravichandran Ashwin should be included instead of Varun Chakravarthy," Rajkumar told ANI.