Former Indian cricketer Laxman Sivaramakrishnan expressed his agony over the fading charm of India’s spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. He believes the pair has been found out by the batsmen which resulted in their downfall.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been regular members of Team India’s white-ball circuit. Both of them took international cricket by storm and troubled every team they bowled against. However, they witness a massive dip in their form lately, which reflected in Team India’s results as well.
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Chahal managed to pick only three wickets in three games during the T20I series against England earlier this year while he didn’t feature in any ODI game. On the other hand, Kuldeep didn’t get a chance to play in the T20I series and went wicketless in two ODIs that he played against England.
“Nothing really pained me more than witnessing the fall of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. The duo was very successful in the early part of their career. Batsmen were not aware of what they were bowling but now they have been found out,” Laxman Sivaramakrishnan wrote in a column on cricket.com.
“There are computer analysts with every team to help batsmen study bowlers. They’re studying the spinners mainly because a lot of foreign players struggle against the spinners.”
Chahal picked four wickets in 8 IPL games that he played while Kuldeep didn’t play a single game in the IPL 2021 before the league got suspended.
“To be successful consistently like an Anil Kumble or a Muttiah Muralitharan or a Shane Warne, you have to keep developing different deliveries (variations) as you progress every year in your career,” he further wrote.
“I found Kuldeep has become inconsistent with this line and length and Chahal is not adding more variations to his bowling and has become predictable.”
Former leg-spinner believes Rahul Chahar can be considered for selection in India’s T20 World cup squad ahead of Kuldeep and Chahal.
“If the T20 World Cup takes place in India or the UAE, the spinners will have an integral part to play in the middle overs. I think Rahul Chahar has been more impressive than Chahal in the IPL 2021 so far,” Sivaramakrishnan said.
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“India need somebody with the skill, the mindset, the body language, the heart, and the courage to go for wickets in the middle overs. This is where I think Rahul Chahar impressed me the most. I will be happy to be proven wrong if Kuldeep and Chahal do well – they are two outstanding cricketers and have tremendous potential. It is only a matter of application and development in the right way.”
He added before concluding “Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri will definitely discuss whatever they’ve seen in the IPL and arrive at a decision. But they will definitely look at the situation and the IPL so far, and who can bring more value.”
