Can’t blame spinners for an off-day: India bowling coach
bowling coach Bharat Arun on Tuesday defended the wrist-spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal who picked up just one wicket in the first ODI. Arun said that a one-off case shouldn’t be pinned against a lot that has been consistent otherwise.
“Well, these two boys (Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav) have done exceptionally well for us and we would like to take a good look at them before we could decide on a combination for the World Cup. So far, they have shaped exceptionally well,” Arun said at a pre-match press conference, here at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
“India have won nine games on the trot and these two wrist spinners have done their job and they have time and again taken wickets. Sometimes it does happen that you don’t get wickets, you have your plans in place but it doesn’t work out. If you look at the overall percentages, we are happy with the way they have shaped up, so one odd match shouldn’t trouble us.”
Tom Latham and Ross Taylor swung the game away after the contest was evenly-balanced, to help their side take 1-0 lead. More importantly, they dominated the India bowlers throughout the middle overs. With footwork being a key factor when it comes to playing spin, the duo relied on traditional sweeps and reversesweeps to toy with the attack.
Arun stated they were better prepared this time around.“Yes we do (have plans). We have taken a good look at the videos, how they played the sweeps and things like this. Definitely, the plans would change for these batsmen. Still you got to consider the weather, consider the workload, how much they have bowled in the match, how much they have bowled at practice and then based on that, it’s just not the decision of the bowling coach, it is a combined decision of the physio, trainer and the bowling coach, we decide to rest someone at practice and then we do that.”
Although he admitted that losing the first ODI had left them in murky waters, Arun said he took the loss in his stride, which he believed would help the team assess themselves in tough situations. “We look at it as a big challenge right now. New Zealand compete exceptionally well. It is a bigger challenge for us to come back, we know we have our plans in place and it is a good testing ground for the team (on) how you come back from behind and do well in the series.”