India Need To Call Back Game-Changing Spinners Like Kuldeep Yadav: Manjrekar
Team India lost their third consecutive ODI series away from home with their defeat in South Africa. Their familiar woes were highlighted once again in the three-match ODI series.
One such persistent issue has been the inability of spinners to take wickets in the middle overs. This tribulation has been alarming over the last couple of series.
Not often do you see any opposition spin attack outperforming the Indian spinners?
Well! the South African spin trio of Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Aiden Markram has managed to beat India in their own game.
The spinners managed to give a breakthrough every time Indian batters tried to build a partnership. They hardly bowled any loose balls thereby maintaining the flow of runs in the middle overs.
In contrast, the spin troika of Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Jayant Yadav was good in patches but wasn’t consistent enough with their line and length. You can check the list of BBL teams and squads here.
Sanjay Manjrekar calls for game changing spinners like Kuldeep
Reacting to the Indian spinner’s performances in South Africa, former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar has said that India should go back to their old success template and give Kuldeep Yadav consistent chances to prove himself.
In the first ODI, India had South Africa reduced to 68/3 and it was the perfect time for the likes of Ashwin and Chahal to capitalize and build the pressure.
However, they not only failed to stem the flow of runs but were incapable to break the partnership between Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma, which in the end was the game-changing one.
Even in the third ODI, India had a good chance to restrict South Africa under 250, but the spinners allowed Quinton De Kock and Van der Dussen to slowly build a formidable partnership. Find the best cricket betting odds and match predictions. Read more here.
India won lot of ODIs in the past due to impact of Kuldeep Yadav in middle overs: Manjrekar
Manjrekar noted that India has been very successful in ODIs due to the impact of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav picking up wickets in the middle overs and felt that it was necessary to do so again.
“You look at the bowling attack and think what does this team needs? All it needs is the concept that got India to win a lot of 50 over matches when Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal were together, taking wickets in the middle. In the end, teams weren’t posting 300 plus that the Indian batters would chase down.” he said while interacting with Cricinfo.
“India needs spinners who can be game-changers in the middle overs. We have to wait and see if Chahal still has it in him. Kuldeep Yadav is somebody, I think India still have to go to. I don’t think Jayant Yadav kinds or even Jadeja for that matter are game-changers in the middle. That’s what India need” he added.
Kuldeep hasn’t played an ODI since July 2021. The Indian team management seems to have moved on from Chahal and Kuldeep since the 2019 ODI World Cup.
They gradually lost their places in white-ball cricket as India experimented with different options, including reintroducing veteran Ravichandran Ashwin, whose decline in the format coincided with the pair’s rise.
The upcoming IPL season will determine Kuldeep’s fortunes in the limited-overs format. If he performs well the doors for him should open, considering the 2023 World Cup will be played in India.
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