IND v AUS 2020: 'Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are no longer the same bowlers' - More feels Indian cricket team is missing MS Dhoni
Former India chief selector Kiran More has explained why the current Indian spinners have struggled to take wickets in international cricket of late.
The 58-year-old pointed out that MS Dhoni always offered tips from behind the stumps, which benefited the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.
Since the Ranchi-based veteran has retired now, More believes the spin bowlers have stumbled with their game plans.
During his appearance on WV Raman's podcast Inside Out, Kiran More spoke at length about the decline of the Indian spinners.
"During Dhoni's time, he was constantly giving advice to bowlers on what length or line to bowl - albeit mostly in Hindi. Now that Dhoni is not there behind the wickets, India's spinners are struggling," said the former Indian wicket-keeper batsman.
Kiran More emphasizes MS Dhoni's role in Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja's success
Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has lost his place in the Indian limited-overs team owing to his high economy rate. The Kolkata Knight Riders star has also not been able to scalp wickets at regular intervals.
Talking about his numbers in T20I cricket, Yadav had an economy rate of 5.97 in 2018. But it clambered up to 8.88 in 2019 and this year, Kuldeep has leaked runs at 9.5 runs per over.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja's bowling average in ODIs in 2018 was 24.57. In 2020, the figure has shot up to 67.43. His economy rate has also soared from 4.6 to 5.36.
Kiran More believed that MS Dhoni's guidance molded Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav into match-winners.
He added that Virat Kohli generally stood near the boundary rope because of his brilliant fielding skills. The current Indian skipper has had to field inside the 30-yard circle to talk to his bowlers continually.
"You will see Kuldeep (Yadav) or (Ravindra) Jadeja are no longer the same bowlers. He (MS Dhoni) has done it for 10-12 years with aplomb as Virat Kohli could afford to stand in the deep, but now he has to either stand at short extra cover or mid-off to talk to the bowlers," More concluded.
The Indian cricket team will play its next white-ball series against England at home. It will be intriguing to see if the duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja could recapture their form in 2021.