Asia Cup 2018: Can the Indian wrist-spin twins be successful?

The Indian wrist spin twins Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are on a high since their respective debuts. Wrist spin is a captivating art and Kuldeep and Chahal have mastered it. The two bring completely different qualities to the table. While Chahal is flat and skiddy, Kuldeep relies on flight, dip and pace variation. Both have made use of the opportunities that have come their way.

Both Chahal and Kuldeep have been successful in bamboozling the batsmen world over with their googlies, leg-breaks, sliders, flippers, top-spinners and wrong‘uns. Now comes the acid test for the spin twins in the form of the Asia Cup. Will they be as successful against Asian batsmen in the U.A.E.?

For statistically minded people, Chahal has so far played 26 ODIs and has taken 45 wickets. Against Sri Lanka, he has played 7 matches and has taken 11 wickets. His remaining 34 wickets came against non-Asian countries like England, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Australia and came off 19 matches.

Kuldeep Yadav has so far played 23 ODIs and has taken 48 wickets. He has taken 6 wickets against Sri Lanka in 4 matches. Against the other countries, he has taken 42 wickets in 19 matches. His major haul was against South Africa with 17 wickets in 6 matches.

The results of their combined onslaught have been quite remarkable.

Both Kuldeep and Chahal are yet to play a One day international against the other two Asian giants, arch-rivals Pakistan and upcoming foe Bangladesh.

The Asian batsmen are born and brought up playing spin. They are adept at using their feet in coming down the wicket and lofting the ball before it is pitched. When pitched short, they are good at cutting and pulling off the back foot. Will the Asian batsmen allow the spin twins of India to dominate them? Or will they conquer them?

Factors influencing the success or failure of Indian spin twins in the Asia Cup

# The pitches in U.A.E are expected to be similar to the ones in India with slow and low bounce aiding the spinners. This should improve Kuldeep and Chahal’s chances of success.

# Both Chahal and Kuldeep are an unknown quantity to Pakistan and Bangladesh and they can fancy their chances against such opponents. They still have some mystery around them. It will be difficult for the batsmen facing them for the first time to read them. In the Pakistan and Bangladesh team, only Shakib Al Hasan has been a regular in IPL and others will be facing Chahal and Kuldeep for the first time. This is to the advantage of the spin duo.

# The dew factor - The presence of dew will hamper the progress of Chahal and Kuldeep. In such a scenario, Rohit Sharma should win the toss and bowl every time to bring Chahal and Kuldeep into play.

# The mindset of the Asian batsmen – The Asian batsmen are fearless and ruthless against spinners. It is not as easy as bowling to South African and England batsmen who are reluctant to use their feet.

# The format of the game – As the format of the upcoming Asia Cup is 50 overs, the batsmen may try to play out the spinners rather than to go after them. This approach may nullify the threat posed by the spinners.

# Absence of Kohli the captain – Kohli has been successful in employing his wrist spinners as an attacking option. It remains to be seen whether Rohit Sharma will be as aggressive as Kohli.

# Absence of Kohli the batsman – The absence of Kohli, the batsman, will adversely affect the number of runs the Indians are capable of putting up on the board. If the Indian batsmen succeed to set up huge targets, that will give more options for the wrist spinners to attack. When the batsmen try to have a go, they often don’t pick their deliveries. On the other hand, in a low-scoring match, the wrist spinners tend to be expensive.

Wrist spinners, when they land the ball in the right areas, are unplayable. In contrast, if they fail to do so, they will travel the distance. For India’s sake, both Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav should come good in the Asia Cup to bust the myth that the Asian batsmen are good against the spinners.