Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes it is time for India to overtake Ravichandran Ashwin in the ODI format as the veteran spinner lukewarms a return to the format after 5 years. Harbhajan has not only called for the return of the famous duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, but has also come up with another unique spin option to help India resolve their middle woes in ODI cricket.
India recorded one of their worst spin averages in the ODI series against South Africa, with Ashwin and Chahar picking three wickets between 114.33.
Analysing their performance in a conversation with Sports Tak, Harbhajan believes the spinners failed to create many chances and instead looked defensive in their approach.
“Ashwin and Chahal didn’t create too many chances. They were a bit defensive with the ball. Sometimes they could attack by sliding in position,” he said.
The veteran spinner further added that India needs to pick wickets in midfield rather than containing running bowlers, then thinks India should bring back Kuldeep and go again with the famous ‘Kul-Cha’ pair. Kuldeep has only made nine ODIs for India and picked eight wickets in the past two years, his last appearance being on the Tour of Sri Lanka in July 2021.
“We missed the spark in the middle, people were looking for wickets and not waiting for things to happen. When KulCha played, they were always picking wickets in midfield and winning the game for India. Don’t know why they fell apart, why the World Cup No chance after that. Time to bring them back or bring some other X-factors because we need wickets in the middle instead of doing containment work,” he added.
Harbhajan believes that while Ashwin has been India’s champion bowler, in the ODI they need a bowler who can test the batsman’s edge at the same time.
“He has done a lot for India regardless of the form. IMHO R Ashwin is a champion bowler but in the ODI I think India should start looking for bowlers who can dribble in and out at the same time. Like Kuldeep Someone like Yadav could be a good choice. Why not go back to the KulCha combo and see what they can bring. Recently, they have won more games for India than any other spin combo. Getting back to them would be a A good thing,” he said.
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
