Varun C vs Kuldeep in T20Is, your pick?

[Gollum]

1 minute ago, Lone Wolf said:

Kuldeep easily...  Though Varun may also sneak in but I feel Teams don't play Kuldeep that well comparatively.

Easily ki baat nahi hai. Touch and go decision, both are damn good. I am a bit biased towards KD but can see the merits of playing Varun against certain opponents...for instance RSA batsmen couldn't pick him in the series last year. 

[Suhaan]

4 minutes ago, Gollum said:

KD did well in the CT final against NZ. 

Yes picked Rachin at crucial time

[putrevus]

3 minutes ago, Gollum said:

KD did well in the CT final against NZ. 

After doing nothing in semifinal against Australia. As far as bowling skills go,  Kuldeep is lot better ,he is on another level.

 

If only one of them can play in a t20 match, I would pick Varun for now but he would be on a very short leash.

[Gollum]

To those who watched, who bowled better in the Asia Cup final?

[Gollum]

1 minute ago, putrevus said:

After doing nothing in semifinal against Australia. As far as bowling skills go,  Kuldeep is lot better ,he is on another level.

 

If only one of them can play in a t20 match, I would pick Varun for now but he would be on a very short leash.

Another thing is KD is lambi race ka ghoda, can see him being in the scheme of things till 2031 home WC. 

 

Varun C is more like Ajantha Mendis, once his novelty wears off, he will struggle. Maybe 1-2 more years where we can extract the best from Varun, anyway he is already 34, late starter. 

[velu]

Kuldeep is a mental midget , albeit lesser than Chahal ..

He got whacked for the first 3 overs vs pan and he got lucky in his last over

[figo6762]

Kuldeep gets Varun Wickets ..  Varun keeps it tight , Kuldeep tosses it up and turns it .. they go for it .. so it has to be Varun .. 

[vvvslaxman]

As per ICC ranking Varun C world no.1 ranked bowler now. 

[Lone Wolf]

3 hours ago, Gollum said:

Easily ki baat nahi hai. Touch and go decision, both are damn good. I am a bit biased towards KD but can see the merits of playing Varun against certain opponents...for instance RSA batsmen couldn't pick him in the series last year. 

Kuldeep picked 5fer in Joburg vs SA in the only T20I he played I think in 2022.  They looked clueless as well..

And that wasn't even Kuldeep 2.0.

 

Varun has his utility as well but I felt good players have figured him out as I watched him in IPL this year.

 

[adi B]

KD was MOTM for me in the CT final (Got RR and Kane mama when they looked all set for 280ish total) and bowled great Wt20 Semi finals against England.

Varun and KD can play in the team if the TM decides to Drop Arshdeep ,but they'll pick one out of KD and Varun based on current form at that time 

[Lone Wolf]

Kuldeep has sheer numbers on his side... Purely based on T20I numbers and average alone .. he is the best T20I spinner to have played the game as per stats.

 

Rashid Khan is overrated in T20 Internationals.

 

People usually mix T20 and T20I.   Even in his Peak Shadab Khan used to outbowl Rashid Khan.

[adi B]

6 minutes ago, Lone Wolf said:

Kuldeep has sheer numbers on his side... Purely based on T20I numbers and average alone .. he is the best T20I spinner to have played the game as per stats.

 

Rashid Khan is overrated in T20 Internationals.

 

People usually mix T20 and T20I.   Even in his Peak Shadab Khan used to outbowl Rashid Khan.

Just look at KDs T20 numbers, he's definitely an ATG .

In Odis also ,his numbers are close to ATG ,an Indian ATG for sure !

[ungboysj]

Both should play all matches both are world class 

 

No seamer is good enough to do better than them

[vvvslaxman]

4 minutes ago, ungboysj said:

Both should play all matches both are world class 

 

No seamer is good enough to do better than them

yes i want that too. If Varun doesn't get you KD does. This is our new Kulcha. Don't want to separate them. India may have to go a batsman light.

[Lone Wolf]

29 minutes ago, adi B said:

Just look at KDs T20 numbers, he's definitely an ATG .

In Odis also ,his numbers are close to ATG ,an Indian ATG for sure !

Yeah he is a definately a T20I ATG... 

In ODIs you can argue he is an Indian ATG.. but bro needs a ODI WC win to cap off a successful career.

He will enjoy bowling in SA in 2027.  That's his favourite hunting ground.  He always enjoyed the bounce and zip off those tracks.

[Stan AF]

5 hours ago, New guy said:

When was the last time Kuldeep lost it badly?

 

2024 T20 WC final for starters.

[Gollum]

The way Chakri demolished Kiwis in the CT group game, played a big role in the final. They were strutting like we were beneath them at the start of the match, but Shreyas and Chakri had other plans. 

[deathmonger]

2 minutes ago, Gollum said:

The way Chakri demolished Kiwis in the CT group game, played a big role in the final. They were strutting like we were beneath them at the start of the match, but Shreyas and Chakri had other plans. 

Good comeback by him in Dubai, where he struggled in 2021.

 

Two tournaments won there now this year.

[Suhaan]

Had one of them been a proper hitter (I know Varun has ability to hit few but not that proved),that would have sealed them together but they will be surely parted if not all ,in some games during wt20 

Edited October 2, 2025 by Suhaan

[StraightDrive26]

To be really frank there is no basis for dropping either of them which makes it pretty tricky. Varun since his comeback into the Indian team has 38 wickets in 18 T20Is with 2 five wicket hauls at an average of under 13 and SR of 10. Kuldeep during the same period has 28 in 13 games at an average of 11 and a SR of 10, no five wicket hauls but 2 four wicket hauls. Nothing much between the two. Both taking more than 2 wickets a game and their economy rate around 7. The problem for India though is that playing both of them means that they will have 4 bowlers who cannot score many runs, Bumrah, Arshdeep, Kuldeep and Varun. But again if we are relying on the bottom 4 to score runs we are in trouble anyways. I will have to play Axar and along with Pandya he will be one of the two all rounders in the game. India cannot go into T20Is in India will just Pandya and Bumrah, that will not work. But there is no rationale to drop either of Kuldeep or Varun. Even in Asia cup Varun took 7 wickets at an average of 20 and an economy of 6.5.

 

Dropping him when he is doing well will be unfair, especially if age is given as a reason. India should aim for the below playing XI.

 

Samson, Abhishek, Tilak, Surya, another bat (Shreyas or Rinku or Parag), Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Varun, Arshdeep, Bumrah.

 

India have to made do with the above line up. This will give us 3 pacers and 3 spinners and 2 part-timers (Abhishek and Tilak). India cannot play Gill, Vice Captain or not. In the next 10+ T20Is India have if Surya does not score many runs, I would rather have both Rinku and Shreyas in place of Surya and Gill, Hardik can take over the captaincy with Shreyas being his deputy.