Aakash Chopra on Saturday stated that there cannot be a better opportunity to play Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal together. The spin-twins are currently in Sri Lanka where Team India will play a 6-match white-ball series.
The deadly duo hasn’t played a single match together after being taken apart by England batsmen in the 2019 Cricket World Cup group game. They were touted to be the next big-thing in Indian cricket but have been separated since that fateful day. However, destiny has brought them together, possible for one last time.
The circumstances are different however. Neither Kuldeep nor Chahal are in form and have barely had any game-time. Since the matches are in Sri Lanka, the pitches will offer assistance to spin. Therefore, this will be the best opportunity to play ‘Kul-Cha’ together, according to Aakash Chopra. Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Chopra said:
“I don’t think there will be a better opportunity to play them together. Why were they included in the first place? Because Ashwin and Jaddu (Jadeja) weren’t able to pick wickets in the middle-overs. If you don’t take wickets in the beginning or in the middle-overs, the death overs would prove to be costly. That’s why they (Kulcha) were played in the first place.”
“Kuldeep and Chahal also maintained a good economy” – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra mentioned a new problem that exists among the bowlers. The Indian quicks have failed to pick wickets in the first 10 overs. This is hurtful for any team and it gives more reasons to play a wicket-taking duo like Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
“In around 25 matches, they picked up 100 wickets. And it’s not like the economy was bad. It was around 5.5 or 6 most of the time. Just one match in Birmingham played on a batsman’s ground has separated them since. They haven’t received another chance yet. But hopefully, Kulcha get a chance to play all the 3 ODI’s in the series. R. Premadasa Stadium is quite big so we can witness them trouble the batsmen,” Chopra concluded.
