Former Indian veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh reckons India could explore the option of going back to Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the limited-overs format.
The Indian selectors picked Ravichandran Ashwin in the ODI series against South Africa but the experienced off-spinner failed to create an impact in the first two ODIs he played.
Ashwin could only take a solitary wicket in 20 overs he bowled in two ODIs and conceded 121 runs in total. Thus, Harbhajan Singh feels it is time to look beyond Ravichandran Ashwin in the 50-overs format.
On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav wasn’t in the best of forms in the white-ball formats and hence he was dropped from the side. However, it is well known that Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav did a fine job for India from 2017 to 2019 as they were able to provide crucial wickets in the middle-overs and create pressure on the opposition.
But the pair could not continue their good form and thus they came under the scanner. In fact, Yuzvendra Chahal is also isn’t in the best of forms as he could only pick two wickets in the three ODIs against the Proteas.
Harbhajan Singh said while talking to Sports Today, “I think these two guys (Ishant Sharma and Ashwin) have done really well for Team India, whether you talk about Test cricket or ODIs. With all due respect to R Ashwin, I think he is a champion bowler, but in ODI cricket, I feel, it’s time India starts looking for an option, maybe someone who can take the ball in as well as out.
“Someone like Kuldeep Yadav could be a great option. Why don’t we go back to Kulcha combination and see what they can bring to the table? They won have games for India. It will be a good thing to go back to them,” Harbhajan said.
“R Ashwin and Yuzi Chahal played in the South Africa series. They didn’t create too many opportunities with the ball, they were a bit defensive with their approach. There were times when they could have attacked the opposition by putting in another slip or another man catching in. And of course, wickets were very, very true. There is no doubt about it.
The Turbanator added that India is missing the spark in the middle over as they are not creating pressure on the opposition because they aren’t picking wickets at regular intervals.
“We are missing that spark in the middle-overs where people are going for wickets rather than waiting for things to happen.
“When Kulcha played together, they were brilliant for the team in the middle-overs. Whenever they played together, they picked wickets and won games for India. I don’t know why they fell apart, why they were not given the opportunities after the World Cup. Maybe it’s time to bring them back or maybe some other X-factor who can take wickets in the middle-overs rather than just doing the containing work”.
India’s head coach Rahul Dravid also admitted that India’s inability to take wickets in the middle overs led to the downfall of the team. India will next take on West Indies in February.
