Veteran Tamil Nadu and India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has said that the retirement of iconic Indian captain MS Dhoni from international cricket is the reason behind the dramatic downfall of spin-bowling duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
Until 2019, both players were a pivotal limited-overs setup, even taking part in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, where the Men in Blue reached the semi-finals. Karthik believes that Dhoni’s calming presence in the team was a major factor behind the duo’s success.
The ‘Kul-Cha’ decline has led the Indian team to experiment with various other options in the spin-bowling department, including the recent recall of modern-day great Ravichandran Ashwin into the ODI squad. Oftentimes, it has been the case that India have gone with a full attack of specialist fast bowlers, with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja taking on the spinner’s role.
During their peak, Chahal and Yadav were a potent combination, as they were regarded as the two best spinners in the world, for the better part of two years, leading up to the World Cup.
After their exclusion from the squad, Chahal has been bowling well in the shortest format, especially in the Indian Premier League, as he continued to be one of their best bowlers in the past few seasons of the tournament.
However, Yadav’s drop in form is more concerning, with the KKR man even losing his spot in the side to Karthik’s domestic teammate Varun Chakravarthy. Karthik spoke of his experiences with Dhoni and the duo during their peak and stressed Dhoni’s role in their meteoric rise to the top.
“I think that their bowling has dipped because somebody like MS Dhoni is not there, for sure.
Because I’ve seen how much he helped them. They don’t need help when the going gets good, but when somebody hits a slog-sweep or just plays the reverse-sweep, then you have the wise words of wisdom coming from a man who has so much experience and they love him so much.
They value the weight (of Dhoni’s words) in gold. They completely trust him,”
Karthik told Cricbuzz.
Despite Virat Kohli being the captain of the side, Karthik claimed that the real support for Chahal and Yadav came from Dhoni himself.
“Virat Kohli could’ve been the captain in many of those matches, but who were they listening to? If I’m honest, definitely MS Dhoni. What field to set, what line to bowl, what must the batsman be thinking.. these are the three questions that keep revolving in their minds,”
he added.
