Ravichandran Ashwin was in all praise of Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur, following the duo’s fine showing in India’s recent 2-1 ODI series triumph against South Africa at home.
With all the focus currently being on the shortest format ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, India young guns quietly made a mark in the recent three-match ODI series against South Africa at home. Led by the experienced Shikhar Dhawan, they went down by nine runs in the series opener in Lucknow before bouncing back with convincing wins in Ranchi and Delhi respectively to take the series 2-1.
While Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson delivered standout contributions with the bat, the bowlers too, put on an all-round show, led by Siraj in the pace department and Kuldeep among spinners. The latter, the left-arm wrist-spinner, finished as the leading wicket-taker with six scalps across three games, including 4/18 in the decider in Delhi, and was adjudged the Player of the series.
A standout dismissal though had come in the first ODI in Lucknow, when Kuldeep had Aiden Markram rattled with his brilliant control, and kept him under sustained pressure before a proper leg-break sneaked through between his bat and pad to shatter the stumps. Markram’s dismissal for a five-ball duck was reminiscent of that of Babar Azam’s, which Kuldeep has affected in a 2019 World Cup clash in Manchester.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who is currently in Australia for the T20 World Cup, spoke highly of Kuldeep while stating what makes him different from other spinners.
“I have always felt this about Kuldeep Yadav when we talk about wrist spinners. He has got this amazing feature to bowl the repetitive lengths that are required to do well in the long format.
He can land in a particular spot whenever he wants, and that’s a fantastic quality for a wrist spinner. That’s a massive value for a wrist spinner.”
Ashwin was also in praise of Shardul Thakur, who made his presence felt with both bat and ball across the three ODIs. Shardul returned 2/35 from eight overs in a rain-shortened 40-overs-a-side contest in the first ODI, dismissing South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma and Janneman Malan. He returned 1/36 (five overs) and 0/8 (two overs) in his next two outings.
However, it was Thakur’s showing with the bat in the series opener that prompted tones of appreciation. The all-rounder added a valuable 93 runs for the sixth wicket with Samson, scoring 33 off 31 with five fours to keep India’s hopes alive in a stiff run-chase of 250. He struck three boundaries off Kagiso Rabada in the 37th over, before falling to Lungi Ngidi in the next, which proved to be a major turning point.
“He can make things happen with both bat and ball. He picked wickets and scored runs too during the backend of the game when we were really struggling. He stitched a vital partnership with Sanju Samson,”
Ashwin said of Thakur.
Shardul, Siraj and Mohammed Shami will join the Indian contingent in Australia, with one of them set to replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah in the main squad for the T20 World Cup 2022. The other two will join the travelling reserves. Siraj bagged five wickets in three ODIs against South Africa and was named the Player of the Series.
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign with a Super 12s clash against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, October 23.
