India Invest In Wrist-Spin, Again

Kuldeep’s Recall, Bishnoi’s Selection Indicate Team Management Wants More Strikes In The Middle Overs

Around this time two years ago, Indian crick-et fans got introduced with the sublime skills of a wiry little leg-spinner from Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Ravi Bishnoi took 17 scalps in the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa and bamboozled most batsmen and had India’s batsmen put up a better show in the final against Bangladesh, he would have ended up being on the winning side.

Two IPLs (24 scalps in 23 games for Punjab Kings at under 7 )and two seasons later, he has been named in the India senior side in the ODIS to face West Indies.

That after IPL’s latest franchise, Lucknow Super Giants, got him under their wing for 4 crore.

The Indian selectors have roughly about 20 months to fix what was clearly a problem area in the ODIs in South Africa. The drought of wickets in the middle overs (10-40) and for that they have gone back to a tactic that served them well post the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup.

Wrist spin.

Hence, the recall handed to chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, who has recovered from his knee surgery. Yuzvendra Chahal, Bishnoi and Kuldeep will be banked upon to provide the team the much abused X-factor and the breakthroughs, something that the side under KL Rahul (will miss the first ODI) struggled within South Africa.

The selectors have also invested in the pace of MP’s Avesh Khan (such a force for Delhi Capitals in the IPL), who can bowl yorkers at speed in the death overs and is a good exponent of reverse swing.