Spin bowling's been a worry after Chahal and Kuldeep stopped playing together: Ajit Agarkar

Former Indian cricketer Ajit Agarkar has said that the spin department of the Indian white-ball setup is a bit worrisome moving forward. After the 2017 Champions Trophy, India introduced something which wasn’t too common in ODI cricket, i.e., playing with two leg-spinners as Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal formed a great combination. 

The duo was the main architect of ODI series wins in New Zealand and South Africa leading into the 2019 World Cup. However, since then, India has not played the two spinners together. Kuldeep, who was the regular member of T20Is and Tests squads as well, has now been left out of the Test side which is in England. 

During a recent interaction, Agarkar expressed that Kuldeep missing out on the team which went for the England tour is a bit unfair. However, the former bowler said that Kuldeep needs to get his confidence back by performing well in Sri Lanka, where he and Chahal are together and will be seen in action. 

Performances in the Sri Lanka series won’t go unnoticed: Ajit Agarkar 

“Sometimes I feel that it was a little bit unfair on him (Kuldeep) to miss out on the series. But he needs to get his confidence back and start bowling well. Both him and Chahal know there are guys behind them and if you have a competition, the team will do well,” Agarkar was quoted by Times Now. 

He further pointed out that since the two leggies have stopped bowling together, the spin attack has become a bit vulnerable. “Spin has been a little bit of a worry for India, especially after Chahal and Kuldeep stopped playing together but there are players like Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakraborty and if those guys can do well, it will give more options to Virat Kohli,” Agarkar said. 

The Indian team has travelled to Sri Lanka, where they will play three ODIs and three T20Is, which start on July 18. Agarkar will be part of the commentary team in that series. “T20 World Cup is not too far away so it is a good opportunity for the guys to put pressure on players who are already in the team to make their case. These performances won’t get unnoticed,” he added.