Muttiah Muralitharan Lavishes Praise On Kuldeep Yadav And Yuzvendra Chahal

Former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has heaped praise on India’s wrist spin twins Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. The two spinners have not looked back since replacing Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in India’s limited-overs squad in 2017. The two have played an important role in India’s recent domination in white-ball cricket, most recently the ODI wins in Australia and New Zealand.

Both the spinners have hunted down in tandem to put India on top more often than not. Not only have they managed to restrict the batsmen from playing big shots but have also taken wickets at regular intervals. Chahal and Kuldeep recently completed 100 ODI wickets as a bowling pair. The two achieved the feat during the third ODI against New Zealand, helping India win that game and take an unassailable 3-0 lead. India had gone on to win the series 4-1.

Prior to the win in New Zealand, Chahal and Kuldeep had helped India win series against South Africa, Windies, Sri Lanka, Australia as well as the Asia Cup. So far, Chahal has picked up 71 wickets in 40 ODIs while Kuldeep has accounted for 77 scalps in 39 outings.

And while Muttiah Muralitharan praised the duo, he believes their success in the upcoming ICC World Cup will depend on the conditions during June-July.

“You have got two good wrist spinners in India right now and the Indian selectors are also confident of their ability based on their impressive performance. There are hardly any wrist spinners in other countries. The other countries can’t copy India.

“But how good Kuldeep and Chahal will be at the World Cup, will depend on the conditions. England pitches in June and July usually assists swing bowling,” Muttiah Muralitharan was quoted as saying by the Asian Age.

The World Cup, meanwhile, will get underway on May 30. Hosts England will take on South Africa in the tournament-opener. India, on the other hand, will open their account against South Africa on June 5.