Art of reading the spinners out of the hand is on the decline, believes Harbhajan Singh

Indian wrist spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, have been in terrific form in the last year having firmly asserted their dominance on the international stage. The duo have been used frequently by Virat Kohli across all limited overs formats. Many believe the two spinners are battling for a single spot in the starting XI in the build-up to this year’s ICC ODI World Cup.

Former India spinner, Harbhajan Singh, claimed that the two wrist spinning magicians are in hot form at the moment but added that modern day batsman are unable to judge spinners’ hand movement in competitive cricket.

"The art of reading the spinners out of the hand is on the decline. Most of the overseas batsmen, if you see, are trying to read wrist spinners after pitching and that's dangerous.

"However, Kuldeep and Chahal have been very consistent. Just check their pitch map through the 40-odd games and the length has been very accurate. But unlike Indian batsmen, who are masters at reading the hands, it is not the case with most of the overseas batsmen. I will give you an example. Kuldeep and Chahal would have had a tough time if they had to bowl to Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma as both are very good players of spin bowling," Singh told TOI in a recent interview.

In addition to that, Harbhajan, who played three ODI World Cups including two finals, is adamant that former teammate Ravindra Jadeja still has a shot in to make the squad for this year’s World Cup.

"If you remember, during the 2017 Champions Trophy, the weather in UK was hot and humid. So, if conditions are same, Jadeja could still be used as a package, if the opposition team has five to six right-handers in their line-up. Play him as No.6 with Hardik Pandya as No.7. Also he is still your best fielder," Harbhajan added.

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