"Ashwin, Jadeja on the way to being most dangerous spin-twins"- Nikhil Chopra after 1st IND vs SL 2022 Test
Former Indian off-spinner Nikhil Chopra is of the opinion that India's current spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are on their way to becoming arguably the most dangerous spin-twin the world cricket has ever seen.
Both Ashwin and Jadeja were sensational against Sri Lanka in Mohali. While Jadeja picked up nine wickets in the game, Ashwin became the second-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests, going past the great Kapil Dev's tally.
Speaking on the YouTube podcast 'Khelneeti', Nikhil Chopra also highlighted the threat that the former Indian spinning duo of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble posed.
"They are definitely on their way to being the most dangerous spin twins in world cricket. But I feel there was another dangerous duo when they used to bowl together in tandem and they were Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh."
Nikhil Chopra also elaborated on the special ability of Ashwin and Jadeja to not concede easy runs to the opposition. He added:
"Ashwin and Jadeja complement each other very well. Even when they are not picking wickets, they won't bowl bad deliveries and batsmen need to try something different to score runs."
It's just not fair for a team to tour India while Ashwin and Jadeja are playing together.
Rajkumar Sharma agrees with Nikhil Chopra's opinion on Kumble-Harbhajan
Former Delhi cricketer and Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma also believes that Kumble and Harbhajan achieved far more than Ashwin and Jadeja have so far. He stated:
"I agree with Nikhil. Whatever Anil and Harbhajan have achieved, Ashwin and Jadeja are surely moving in that direction. However, at present, the achievements of Anil and Harbhajan are more than that of Ashwin and Jadeja. It is a good thing for Indian cricket that this duo is turning out to be dangerous, especially at home."
Sharma also pointed to how well Kumble and Harbhajan performed together when India went overseas. He added:
"Anil Kumble and Harbhajan had a lethal partnership in SENA countries. If you see at Ashwin and Jadeja, often only one of them plays and most of the times it is Jadeja. Our spinners have a different role in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries because the wicket there doesn't support spin much."
It will be interesting to see the kind of impact Ashwin and Jadeja have together when India play their second pink ball Test at home against Sri Lanka from March 12 in Bengaluru.