Former India cricketer-turned-commentator, Ravi Shastri, who was announced as Team India’s chief coach in July, this year following the intense drama, in the build-up of appointment of a coach after veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble stepped down unceremoniously soon after the loss against arch-rivals Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy.
A day before the second game in Kolkata, Shastri took to the micro-blogging site Twitter while praising the two young wrist spinners, who are donning the national colours concurrently against Australia, in the ongoing five-match One-day international PayTm series.
In the opener of the five-match series against Australia at Chepauk in Chennai, the Haryana-born leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and chinaman Kuldeep Yadav were chief architects with the white ball to help hosts – to lead the 50-over series 1-0, by winning a rain-marred contest by 26 runs.
While showing great belief among the youngsters, Shastri expressed his satisfaction with the slow-bowling performance, in the day-night fixture against Men in Yellow at home.
“The Wristies. Birds of a feather flock together,” while tagging both promising prospects in the national fold,” Shastri tweeted on his official Twitter handle.
The experienced campaigner Shastri reveals the duo are sharing the similar traits and interests for the Men in Blue while spending the quality time with the seniors in the change-room. Touted as the attacking performers, in the form of wrist spinners, Yuzvendra-Kuldeep shared five wickets in nine overs after conceding 63 runs when Australian innings was reduced to 21 overs on September 17 (Sunday).
Interestingly, the spinners fetched the much-awaited chances, as they were raring in the wings and raring to go. On the other, side BCCI’s national selectors have had applied the rotation policy, in order to rest their senior campaigners.
However, rested left-arm orthodox spinner Ravindra Jadeja was inducted in the squad for first three ODIs, after Axar Patel lost his place while nursing an ankle sprain when he was participating in the soccer session ahead of the series.
(Read Also: India vs Australia, Eden Gardens ODI: Unchanged India Bat, Australia Include Agar, Richardson)
While sharing a good rapport with Kohli, Shastri was considered for the high-profile role which further saw India drew the scoreline to 9-0 against Sri Lanka, in the full-fledged bilateral series.
Between 2014 and 2016, the 55-year-old Shastri, who has had known for being at the top of his voice during his commentary stint was offered a lucrative job by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after sharing a strong relationship with Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Currently, captain Kohli won the toss at the iconic Eden Garden Stadium in Kolkata – to bat first with an unchanged side against Steven Smith’s Australia, as gloveman Mahendra Singh Dhoni is playing his 300th ODI if we exclude the three Asia XI games he has played during his career.
Here’s the tweet from Shastri after India cancelled their practice session owing to the inclement weather in Kolkata – the City of Joy:
The Wristies. Birds of a feather flock together – @imkuldeep18 @yuzi_chahal #TeamIndia #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/afyGOaaUDH
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) September 20, 2017