I Don’t See Kuldeep & Chahal Being Replaced By Ashwin And Jadeja, Says Harbhajan Singh
Jan 9, 2019 at 3:59 PM
With Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal once again impressing, veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels senior spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will find it difficult to replace the young spin duo.
To have the best possible lineup for the 2019 World Cup, Team India has been trying out the wrist spinners from the last two series, and it has paid rich dividends. Both the spinners were part of the team for the Sri Lanka series, and after their impressive performances in the island nation, they were retained in the ongoing series against Australia too. And in the absence of Jadeja and Ashwin, they have fully capitalised on the opportunity.
So far, Kuldeep and Chahal have picked up ten wickets in the first two games against Australia with each of them taking five each while the former also took a hat-trick in the second game at the Eden Gardens. And their performances have impressed Harbhajan so much that he feels the duo will not be replaced soon.
“At the moment, these two boys (Kuldeep and Chahal) are really doing well and I don’t see them being replaced by Ashwin and Jaddu. You can’t predict what’s in store for the future,” he told PTI.
The veteran spinner also said that the wrist spinners could do well irrespective of the conditions.
“Wrist spinners have certain advantages which is not condition dependent. Chahal has a good googly and can get his leg breaks to turn sharply. Similarly, Kuldeep can also get it to turn both ways,” he said before adding: “His wrong ‘un is very effective. They have that x-factor required at the highest level.
Meanwhile, India has taken a 2-0 lead in the series after winning the second game by 50 runs in Kolkata. Batting first, the Men in Blue rode on half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane to post 252 before 3-wicket hauls from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep helped them to bowl the visitors for 302.