Shikhar Dhawan picks the 'tougher to read' bowler among Kuldeep, Chahal

The Indian wrist spinners – Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav – are making the ball talk big time in the ongoing ODI series against South Africa. The South African tracks have traditionally not been spin friendly. But Kuldeep and Chahal have extracted a great deal from it. Recently, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan credited the two bowlers for their wonderful work.

Also, Shikhar picked one among the two talented bowlers as ‘tougher to read’. As per the quotes in the Indian Express, Shikhar Dhawan reckons that Kuldeep Yadav is tougher to pick since he is a chinaman bowler. He also remarked that the wrist spinners are always difficult to read. Hence, it comes as no surprise to the South African team struggle against them in the ongoing assignment.

“From my point of view, chinaman is more difficult to read. Between Kuldeep and Chahal, I think Kuldeep is a little harder to read. There are players who can’t read googlies. They will find Chahal’s googlies tough to handle. As far as I’m concerned, I find Kuldeep a little more difficult to read,” Shikhar Dhawan quoted.

“It’s difficult to play the wrist spinners because they can turn the ball even on a flat track. Especially the overseas players… They are not used to (playing spin). So the wrist spinners can create doubts in the batsmen’s mind. That’s why they are effective,” he added further.

On South African batsmen struggling against spinners

When asked to single out the reasons why the South African batsmen are struggling to pick the Indian spinners, Shikhar Dhawan noted that the Proteas camp can answer this question well. He, however, cited that playing in limited overs cricket comes with the challenge of scoring quick runs. Hence, the batsmen tend to take the odd risks and eventually get dismissed against the turning deliveries.

“I won’t say it’s the lack of patience, for when you are playing the ODIs you have to score runs (quickly). They can answer it better; about their problems. But they are losing wickets in a heap in the middle-overs, which is the reason why they are not getting to their target scores. If you have doubts in your mind, then that reflects on your batting. And this is giving us the advantage,” conceded the Indian opener.

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