India coach Anil Kumble heaps praise on the off-spin twins

Team India head coach Anil Kumble is a mighty pleased man. After having taken over the responsibility, he has managed to win matches for the Indian team. His communication with the team is commendable. In a recent interview with the PTI, he lauded the off-spin twins of India – Ravichandran Ashwin and Jayant Yadav.

Both Ashwin and Yadav played important roles in India’s comprehensive Test win at Vizag against England. While Ashwin has been a master of the art, Yadav impressed on debut. Anil Kumble mentioned how crucial Ashwin has been for the team. He rightly cited that Ashwin’s batting credentials are coming to full use for the team. Ashwin has been in a great form with the bat in the recent times.

“He (Ashwin) has done an exceptional job starting from West Indies. When Rohit (Sharma) played and we played only four bowlers and six batters, Ashwin batted at No 7. We need that fifth bowler to pick up 20 wickets. That’s why he is consistently batting at No 6,” quoted Anil Kumble.

Anil further talked about the new kid, Jayant Yadav. He remarked that with the discussions he has had, Yadav looks like a promising young talent. After having a brilliant Test debut, he is surely one of the players to look out for in future.

“Interactions that I have had, he (Jayant) comes across as a balanced individual. He had a dream (Test) debut. He contributed with bat and ball and a brilliant fielding effort in the first innings. Overall, you can’t ask for more. As a youngster coming into this team, he showed a lot of character, lot of maturity, although he was playing his first match,” quoted the former Indian spinner.

He was particularly impressed with the way Jayant batted with the tail. Jayant made handy contributions in both the innings in his debut Test at Vizag. “Jayant handled batting with the lower order, especially with Shami getting those 30-40 runs. The way he bowled was quite impressive. It augurs well for Indian cricket that someone who is just coming into the team has shown that kind of approach,” said Kumble.

India and England will now clash in the 3rd Test at Mohali. Talking about the conditions in Mohali, Anil Kumble believes that the track has gone slower than what it used to be earlier. He reiterated that the team is not bothered about the conditions anyway.

“We need to play good cricket. I certainly believe we played good cricket in Rajkot and Vizag. That’s why we are 1-0 ahead in series and we have to repeat that in Mohali, no matter what the conditions are. Like I said over the years, it has certainly gone slower, not necessarily what it used to be in the 90s,” mentioned the Indian coach.

Lastly, Kumble reflected on the fact that the defensive mindset of the English players won the match for India at Vizag. “Their approach when we realised that they were not going for runs and looking to survive, it becomes lot easier as a bowling unit, the time to take 10 wickets may be slightly longer. There was no frustration. There was always belief, definitely in the ability of our bowling attack,” he conceded.