The Asia Cup 2023 squad which was announced on Monday threw up a number of talking points. Notable exclusions include leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, which means India will travel to Sri Lanka with only one wrist-spinner in Kuldeep Yadav.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar picked a 17-man squad including Sanju Samson as a back-up. Rohit decided to put his faith on left-arm spinner Axar Patel over Yuzvendra Chahal, who formed a formidable partnership with Kuldeep Yadav in India’s bowling line-up in recent years. The reason for the decision may have been Axar’s ability to chip in with the bat, but it remains to be seen if this call proves fruitful for the team.
Ajit Agarkar after the team announcement said the selection committee felt Kuldeep Yadav was slightly ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal at the moment.
“We can fit only one wrist spinner. It’s unfortunate for one to miss out and right now, Kuldeep is a bit ahead,” said Agarkar.
Yuzvendra Chahal has taken 121 wickets in 72 ODI matches. His bowling average of 27.13 and strike-rate of 30.90 is better than both Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. He could have added another dimension to the Indian bowling line-up in sub-continental pitches.
Considering this Asia Cup as the dress rehearsal for the ODI World Cup 2023, it is worth seeing how the winning teams shaped up in the spin department in its previous editions.
The last time India won an ODI World Cup was in 2011, and that team had an abundance of spin options. Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla were the regular options in the department, with part-timers such as Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan and Virender Sehwag available at captain Dhoni’s disposal.
The England 2019 World Cup winning squad had a fair mix of spinners in its armory too with Moin Ali as the off-spinner, Liam Dawson as the left-arm orthodox and Adil Rashid as a leg-break.
Australia are among the few teams in the world who have announced their squad for the World Cup. The Aussies have announced a provisional squad, and interestingly they have opted for a different strategy than the Indians. Among the spinners, they have named Travis Head who bowls off-spin and two leg-break bowlers in the form of two Adam Zampa and Tanveer Sangha.
Interestingly, off-spinners and wrist-spinners dominate the ICC ODI Bowlers rankings too. Three wrist-spinners – Rashid Khan, Adam Zampa, Kuldeep Yadav are among the top 10. Mujeeb Ur Rahman of Afghanistan finds himself as the lone off-spinner.
Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja are players of similar profile. Both are left-handers who can bat down the order and bowl. It is likely that only one amongst the two will find his name in the playing XI.
This means India will have at the most two variations of spinners available for selection. There isn’t any option of off-spinners or leg-spinners in the pitches of a sub-continental country.
Will it prove to be a masterstroke or the cause of doom for Team India? It would be an interesting aspect to look forward to with World Cup looming large.
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