Spin Duo Of Chahal Ad Kuldeep Is A Rare One!!!

For the last couple of years, it has been a well-established fact that the spinners (especially the wrist spinners) have started playing a significant role in the success of the teams in the shorter formats. While they have been always effective under the sub-continent conditions earlier, recent records show that they are proving invaluable even outside. One prominent example of the increase of potency in the blowing attack due to the presence of the wrist-spinners has been India.

India has been fortunate to have two very good wrist-spinners, adding variety to their blowing under all conditions.Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahalhave been a permanent feature in the team in Asia. Even outside, India has started having them playing together, with some spectacular impact. So far, both of them have played 36 ODI matches.

Kuldeep has taken 73 wickets, while Chahal grabbed 64. However, it is quite eye-catching that in the 24 ODI matches they played together, they have taken 93 wickets. Their partnership strike rate is almost 4 wickets per match now, which is considerably high.

Another point to be noted is that Kuldeep seems to get more relaxed and potent, with Chahal bowling at the other end. It shows in his stats as well. In the 24 matches he played along with Chahal, he has grabbed 55 wickets (2.3 wickets per match); while the other 12 yielded only 18 (1.5 wickets per match). For Chahal, the wicket-taking percentage gets reversed. But, it is very visible that they do like bowling in partnership and enjoy each other’s success.

It would be interesting to know which other spin bowling duo hasperformed exceptionally togetherand what had been their combined strike-rate. For narrowing down the analysis, the bowlers who have taken at least 150 wickets in ODI cricket have been considered. Also, 250 total wickets have been taken as a cut-off for the bowling partnership.

The corresponding list clearly shows that it has been very rare in ODI history that two specialist spinners have operated in tandem for one team. There have been cases of great spinners being supported by part-time options from the other end.

Also, there are cases where at least one of them had been a genuine all-rounder to make sure that the team is balanced. In that aspect, Kuldeep-Chahal combination has been quite rare.