"If you keep short hair here, your head will burn down" - Ravindra Jadeja hails Kuldeep Yadav's smart decision to keep long hair in the CaribbeanÂ
Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja recently teased his fellow spin bowling partner Kuldeep Yadav over his hairstyle. Jadeja's comments came following the team's five-wicket triumph against the West Indies in the opening ODI at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday, July 27.
The duo claimed a combined total of seven wickets as the Men in Maroon crumbled to 114 all out after being put into bat. The total proved to be the third lowest ODI score for West Indies at home, with India having to bowl only 23 overs to make their case.
Following a promising start by the pacers with the new ball, the spinners ran riot with Ravindra Jadeja dismantling the middle order to end with 3/37 from six overs. Kuldeep Yadav joined the party late, but made a lasting impression, recording figures of 3-2-6-4 in the first innings.
He was also adjudged the Player of the Match for his memorable performance.
The BCCI released a video where the spin twins spoke about the match. In the video, Ravindra Jadeja said:
"Kuldeep has brought a cool hairstyle with him from India in this warm weather in Barbados. Only long hair can protect you in this heat, if you keep short hair here, your head will burn down."
Kuldeep Yadav tormented West Indies batters with his spin bowling. The spinner did not have to endure the heat for long as the match was wrapped up in no time, with only a total of 45.5 overs being played across two innings to yield a result.
Kuldeep's hair was also spared of prolonged heat during the Test matches as he was not part of the squad. However, he is making a strong case for himself in white-ball cricket, with a five-match T20I series to follow after the end of the ongoing ODI series.
"I think we bowled just like a pair should" - Kuldeep Yadav on his newfound partnership with Ravindra Jadeja
Kuldeep Yadav fought off competition from Yuzvendra Chahal to claim a spot in the Indian playing XI for the first ODI against the West Indies. The left-arm wrist spinner is viewed by many as the primary frontline spinner after putting in a good set of performances in Team India's home season earlier this year.
With Ravindra Jadeja certain to hold his place as the team's premier spin-bowling all-rounder, the pairing of 'KulJa' might be here to stay for quite a while.
Crediting the fast bowlers for making the early breakthroughs and reflecting on his pairing with Jadeja, Kuldeep said in the aforementioned video:
"I am following Ravindra Jadeja in everything he does, he is my favorite. The fast bowlers gave us a good start today, Mukesh [Kumar] bowled really well on his debut.
"[To Jadeja] When you came into the attack, you kept taking wickets in a heap and then I came in and took the rest. I think we bowled just like a pair should, we bowled like a good bowling unit."
Team India are scheduled to play the second ODI at the same venue in Barbados on Saturday, July 29. The Men in Blue have a 1-0 lead in the three-match affair and require one more win to secure yet another series win over the West Indies, a streak which began back in 2006.
Will Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav be India's first-choice spinners at the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup in the subcontinent? Let us know what you think.