Hardik Pandya’s injury, Ravindra Jadeja’s comeback meant Kuldeep and I couldn’t play together continuously - Yuzvendra Chahal
Team India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has stated that Hardik Pandya’s injury and Ravindra Jadeja’s comeback to the limited-overs set-up made it almost impossible for him and Kuldeep Yadav to play together.
For two years, in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup, Chahal and Kuldeep grew in stature as India’s spin twins. However, over the last couple of years, both have struggled for form and haven’t consistently featured in the playing XI.
In an interview with Sports Tak, Yuzvendra Chahal opined that the team combination had to change once Hardik got injured and Jadeja made a return to the limited-overs squads.
“When I and Kuldeep Yadav were playing, Hardik Pandya was also bowling quite a bit. Then, in 2018, Hardik got injured and Jaddu pa (Ravindra Jadeja) came in as an all-rounder, who can bat at number seven. So, after that, if we had to play an extra bowler, the combination wasn’t working out. Since Jadeja is a spinner, I and Kuldeep couldn’t play together continuously after that,” Chahal said.
Yuzvendra Chahal further explained that things could have been different had Hardik been replaced by a pace bowler.
“If a pacer had come in instead of Hardik, maybe we could have played together. But the team demands come first. We did play half of the games individually. Like out of six games, I played three and Kuldeep played three. But a team is built with 11 players and KulCha wasn’t fitting into it,” Chahal added.
"Even if I am not playing and the team wins, I am equally happy" - Yuzvendra Chahal
The 30-year-old asserted that he doesn’t mind sitting out as long as the team is winning.
Yuzvendra Chahal further stated that the team bonding among the current group is so strong that he has always felt as an integral part of the squad even when not playing.
“Even if I am not playing and the team wins, I am equally happy. I played one-dayers in New Zealand last year after six months. But I was confident since I was bowling well in the nets and was traveling with the team as well. I was never made to feel that I was not part of the team even when I was not playing. So all that helps keep your confidence in tact,” Chahal explained.
Yuzvendra Chahal, who played three T20I matches against England at home earlier in the year, managed to pick up only three wickets at an economy rate of 9.91.