SA vs IND 2018: Paul Adams fascinated by "different" Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

Paul Adams reveals why South African batsmen struggle against Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Paul Adams | IOL

Paul Adams –former South African chinaman bowler, on Monday, expressed his views on the Indian wrist spin duo –Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, saying the duo are different from the other spinners,  who are able to take the ball away from batsmen by using different angles and variations, which makes them very potent in their own way.

He also said that India are lucky to have the duo in the same playing eleven which is an added advantage for the side as a lot of Teams unable to do that.

Kuldeep and Chahal picked up 33 wickets together in the six One Day Internationals to help India to win their first ever bilateral series in South Africa.

Speaking to Press Trust of India, Adams said, “If you look at the way cricket has gone in recent times, it has become more in favor of batsmen. So it is great for India that they are able to include both in the same playing eleven. Yes, they are wrist spinners but they are different. They can take the ball away from batsmen. With different angles and different deliveries, they are very potent. India are eager to use both together and their team balance even allows for it.”

He further added on the same, “Not a lot of teams can do that, include two spinners in the same ODI eleven, let alone two wrist spinners. South Africa usually don't use two spinners in ODIs or T20Is. At Johannesburg ODI, they didn't have a single spinner on a good batting surface. Yet, India were able to play both. It is definitely a unique position to be in.”

Commenting on the two wrist spinners’ show in the rainbow nation, Adams said, “Yes, they haven't played in South Africa before but they saw the pitches here and knew that they had to bowl at a slower pace. They were put under pressure in only one match but it was down to conditions. The pitch was good for batting and they were attacked. But leave that game aside, they have been nearly unplayable. Chahal has a lot of consistency. He gives a lot of rotation to the ball, which is good.”

He further explained, “Yadav's googly is very bothersome for the batsmen and not easy to read. The other thing that has worked for them is that they can take the ball away from batsmen. Irrespective of who bowls it, pacers or spinners, the ball going away has always been a wicket-taker in cricket. Someone like Ashwin has a lot of variations and I hear he is even developing some traits of leg spin. But these wrist spinners can move the ball naturally in both directions and that is more potent. When I said that Chahal gives good rotation on the ball, it implies that he controls the ball well. He has more consistency in his line and length, which makes it difficult to score off him. Yadav is more prone to spray the ball.”

Adams went to further explain how IPL proved to be helpful in the progress of the players, “IPL does provide different challenges and settings. Chahal and Yadav are used to bowling in difficult situations and so learned to develop their skills like how to beat batsmen in flight, or trajectory, or change of pace. To a degree, the IPL is helpful for batsmen as well but on those pitches, you cannot learn how to play spin. You can only hit it.”

On being asked about the South African batsmen's struggle against the spin duo, former left-arm unorthodox wrist spinner said, “Not playing spin is not the problem. Staying at the wicket is the problem. That's what we saw in the ODI series. When they didn't have to stay at the wicket, they could attack spin. In other matches, they were not able to do that because they needed to build the innings over 50 overs.”

Adams signed off by saying, “But I don't think there is a huge worry at the moment about this. Players don't arrive at the international level as finished products. The best players learn on the job. A-tours to the subcontinent or even other conditions are beneficial. Young batsmen need to soak that experience in and work with that knowledge. After that, junior-level coaches will have a great responsibility in preparing the next generation of batsmen.”

 

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 20 Feb, 2018

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