Rohit Sharma, the former India captain, is in no mood to give any sort of advice to spinner Kuldeep Yadav with days left for the ICC T20 World Cup. Rohit, who has captained Kuldeep for the longest time and even had on-field arguments and banters, has had enough of the left-arm wrist-spinner’s fascination with DRS. If there’s one bowler whom Rohit has denied DRS the most, it’s Kuldeep, and hence, ahead of the tournament beginning on February 7, Rohit remains rigid in his stance.
“Koi advice nahi hai bhai sahab ko. Ball daal apna chup chaap. Aur peeche ja (No advice for the gentleman. Just bowl quietly. And please step back). You can’t appeal on every ball,” Rohit said on the Captain’s Road Map show to Jatin Sapru.
Rohit has often made mistakes regarding Kuldeep. During his time as captain, Rohit would get carried away by his bowler's excessive appeals, which often led to poor DRS calls. Most recently, during the South Africa ODI series in December, Kuldeep was at it again, erupting in a huge LBW appeal. Rohit, despite no longer being the captain, turned it down from the slips. Rohit was supported by Virat Kohli and the stand-in captain KL Rahul.
{{/usCountry}}Rohit has often made mistakes regarding Kuldeep. During his time as captain, Rohit would get carried away by his bowler's excessive appeals, which often led to poor DRS calls. Most recently, during the South Africa ODI series in December, Kuldeep was at it again, erupting in a huge LBW appeal. Rohit, despite no longer being the captain, turned it down from the slips. Rohit was supported by Virat Kohli and the stand-in captain KL Rahul.
{{/usCountry}}Having said that, Rohit delved into India’s combinations for the T20 World Cup, stressing that while playing two spinners in Kuldeep and Varun Chakaravarthy could be ideal, it will only come at the cost of a fast bowler. Three pacers and two spinners may not prove to be a winning combination for India. Rohit persisted with the spin-heavy approach during last year’s Champions Trophy, a campaign in which India emerged victorious. In Dubai, India played Kuldeep Yadav, Chakaravarthy, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja, while banking on Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya with the new ball. Conditions in India, however, will be a lot different.
“India’s biggest challenge will be how the management decides to play them together. You can only play them together if you’re only fielding two seamers,” mentioned Rohit.
India opens its T20 World Cup campaign against the USA on the opening day, followed by Namibia on February 12 and Pakistan on February 15.