SL v IND 2021: Laxman, Pathan looking forward to see Kuldeep, Chahal bowl in tandem during Sri Lanka tour

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal haven't played together since the 2019 World Cup.

By Salman Anjum - 09 Jul, 2021

Wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal had formed a potent bowling partnership for Team India during the 2017-19 period. The pair, referred as ‘Kulcha’ by the fans, used to run through the opposition batting line-up and kept R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja out of the limited-overs set-up for close to two years.

However, they are now struggling to feature in the playing XI together. The league match against England during the 2019 World Cup was the last time when Chahal and Kuldeep bowled in tandem for India.

With India’s second-string team slated to play Sri Lanka in a limited-overs series from July 13, Kuldeep and Chahal could be seen in action together once again.

See Also: Kuldeep Yadav highlights importance of Sri Lanka tour for ensuring a place India’s T20 WC squad

Ahead of the series, Indian cricketers VVS Laxman and Irfan Pathan have backed the spin twin to flourish against Sri Lanka.

"I would like to see them (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) play in three ODIs, because there are six spinners as you rightly mentioned. I think in ODIs, each bowler will get to bowl 10 overs. So, the more overs they bowl, the more success they have, they will get back the confidence -- especially Kuldeep Yadav. Yuzvendra Chahal is a successful and experienced bowler, he is high on confidence and a very important member, keeping in mind the T20 World Cup. I think Kuldeep requires to get his confidence back," VVS Laxman said on Star Sports show Game Plan.

During the recently held second intra-squad match in Colombo, the pair shared as many as five wickets between them. In a clip shared by Sri Lanka Cricket's YouTube channel, Chahal can be seen dismissing Nitish Rana and Krishnappa Gowtham while Kuldeep claimed three wickets.

Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan supported Kuldeep as he said, "The only way you can get confidence is by playing matches. And if he keeps bowling more and more overs, this is where his lost confidence will come back. He has been a very successful bowler in a short span of time for Indian cricket. He has been one of the quickest to take 100 wickets and he is a wicket-taker. As far as the rest of the team is concerned, you need to give them confidence. So, I am looking forward to seeing not only Kuldeep and Chahal bowling together, but I am hoping that Hardik Pandya starts bowling. What I am hearing is that if he starts bowling, then it makes it easier to play both of them."

Indian team will play three ODIs and T20Is each under the captaincy of veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan in Sri Lanka. There are many new faces in the squad with Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana, K Gowtham, and Chetan Sakariya receiving maiden India call-up.

The limited-overs series will kick-off with the first ODI on July 13 and all the games will be played in Colombo.

By Salman Anjum - 09 Jul, 2021

TAGS