Kuldeep Yadav won the Player-of-the-Match award in December for his five-for in the series’ lone Test in Bangladesh. He followed it up with match-winning performances in ODI series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand at home, and he forced his way into India’s team for the first two Tests against Australia, which begin next week in Nagpur. While Kuldeep has rediscovered his mojo, his good friend and spin twin, Yuzvendra Chahal, appears to have lost it. Chahal, who became India’s leading wicket-taker in Twenty20Is on Sunday, has struggled with his bowling rhythm, technique, and confidence for some time now, forcing the team management to sideline him frequently.

Sunil Joshi, a former India left-arm spinner who served on the Indian selection panel between 2020 and 2022, has closely monitored both Kuldeep and Chahal’s performances. Joshi deconstructs their approaches, explains what makes them effective or ineffective, and selects his World Cup squad.

Kuldeep Yadav was recently named Player of the Match at Chattogram, Bangladesh. He also had strong performances in one-day internationals against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. What makes him so powerful?

Kuldeep has worked really hard on a couple of things. I’ve been watching him closely since my tenure as coach at Uttar Pradesh, when he played a few games after being dropped from the Indian team during the 2019-20 season.

During the [2020-21] England series, I observed Kuldeep closely during the Chennai Test matches: his body was considerably more open-chested, and his [right] hand was falling away from the point of target. Your non-bowling arm should follow the batsman, and your bowling hand should be as near to the batsman’s head as feasible. If you think of a clock, your bowling arm should come from just before 12 o’clock; if it comes from 1 o’clock, the trajectory will be flatter. If your non-bowling arm is straight, your bowling hand will naturally move closer to the head. Kuldeep has made another change.

He concentrated on his arm speed, which was slightly slower. The spring in his bowling run-up is now visible. He has made the run-up smoother and more consistent, and his arm speed is good. In the follow-through, his body is moving towards the batsman, and his line of attack has improved. More revolutions are on the ball.

A great illustration of [all of this coming together] is Dasun Shanaka’s wicket [in the ODIs in Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram earlier this month] – the way he bowled him, that’s the line we’ve been discussing with Kuldeep and he understood what was necessary.

He also changes how he uses the crease. He was bowling near the centre of the crease earlier. He now bowls wider, from the centre, and close to the stumps. As a left-arm wristspinner, every time you bowl away from the crease, especially to a right-hander, it will be difficult if you don’t get the line perfect. You end up bowling middle-and-leg when you get close to the stumps. It’s an ideal angle for getting near to the stumps and taking the ball away from the left-hander. The greatest film for bowling a right-hander, in my opinion, is [to watch] the Dasun Shanaka wicket in Thiruvananthapuram, where Kuldeep got him through the gap between bat and pad.

Do you think he’s gotten smarter and more consistent?

You must give him credit. He has worked extremely hard and clearly understands what is required. He has also played in domestic matches. He appeared in one Test and three One-Day Internationals for India A against New Zealand A. He did well, getting wickets.

The greater discussion about Kuldeep’s improved consistency, as some previous players have noted, is his delivery speed.

I always think that bowling speeds between 70 and 85kph are ideal for spinners. The faster you bowl through the air, the easier it is for a batsman to line up. When the bowler slows down, adjusts his speed, or starts spinning, the batsman must use his intellect to determine the pitch of the ball, as well as his technique and timing.

Kuldeep has worked hard on his speed, which I believe is presently between 75kph and late 80s. He doesn’t bowl any faster than that. The more revolutions you put on the ball, the more it will skid through after pitching.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri says Kuldeep’s efforts on hip flexion and lower-body strength has enabled him to transmit such revs. Do you concur?

That will only happen when he has focused on his delivery stride. That is why it is much easier to transfer your body weight towards the target when everything is side-on – when everything is side-on, you immediately transfer your body weight [properly] and your hip drive will improve significantly.

Rhythm is divided into three sections: run-up, delivery stride, and follow-through. If one of these is missed, the bowler will be in a difficult situation. When you run too fast, everything happens too fast, including the movement, and the trajectory is flatter. Everything will be slow if you go too slowly – there will be fewer revolutions on the ball and the batsman will have enough time to go back or forward. If you do not complete your follow-through, you will bowl short. Because Kuldeep is short, he cannot have a longer stride as a spinner because you collapse and are unable to transmit body weight towards the batsman and extract the proper pace from your hip drive. A spinner’s delivery stride should be shoulder width – this is an optimal length.

This is what we can see in Kuldeep now: the transfer of body weight, the hip drive, as Ravi said, and of course the arm speed, the front arm, and revolutions on the ball. Plus, he likes the small changes he has made to his bowling arsenal, which are helping him win.

What is the one thing you want him to keep getting better at?

He can probably sometimes bowl around the stumps to left-handed batters, who can’t see that area. If Kuldeep comes around the wickets, the batsman might think he’s going to take the ball away, but he doesn’t. If you saw how he got Henry Nicholls out yesterday [in the ODI in Hyderabad against New Zealand], that was a classic delivery. Daryl Mitchell was also lbw. And Dasun Shanaka’s forward defence was fully stretched, through the gate, and he was bowled.

He is doing this by always going the same length. He is probably in a spot right now where he can take wickets at any time and put pressure on the team. In white-ball cricket, you have to put pressure on the batsman and try to get inside his head. For example, Mitchell Santner bowled Virat Kohli in Hyderabad, but Kohli could have played forward.

Because R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel are all very good at Test cricket, Kuldeep is fourth in line. But he’s shown that he can make a difference every time he’s called up. He will play in the first two Tests at home in February against Australia. Think he will be important in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy?

I believe so. One, because he has been good at taking wickets lately. As a former cricket player, I pay more attention to how he gets wickets: a spinner getting the batter out through the gate bowled, caught at slip, stumped getting to the pitch of the ball, miscuing the ball, and getting caught at mid-off or mid-on. These are the places where a spinner would love to get a dismissal.

When you look at the Australian Test team and the places where they play, where do you think Kuldeep will have an advantage?

If Ashwin is our first choice and Jadeja isn’t available, then Kuldeep and Axar should be our next choices. If they are playing three spinners and Jaddu is available, Kuldeep should play. Don’t worry about the venues or how well our spinners will do there. Take a look at how Kuldeep has taken wickets. In the recent series he has played, whether it was red ball or white ball, most of his dismissals happened within the 30-yard circle. That’s great for a bowler because it shows that your line and length have been very consistent. Kuldeep will be very important for India to beat Australia.

Let’s talk about Yuzvendra Chahal. Is he getting easier to guess?

Any bowler will go through that phase at some point. Chahal is likely in that stage. If Chahal can’t get any playing time in the middle, he should probably ask the team management to let him go play domestic cricket. He needs to play a lot of games to get back into shape. That should be the best way for Chahal to get ready.

Is there something he can work on with his technique?

He should really work on finishing his follow-through, because sometimes he just pushes the ball without giving it any spin. When you slow your arm, the ball automatically spins less, making it much easier for a batsman to catch. Any spinner will become predictable because the batsman will know, “Okay, he’s only doing this [releasing the ball without spin] or he’ll probably go outside the off stump, so if I leave that ball, he’ll come back into the stumps [line],” which is the batsman’s strength.

Chahal needs to work on his follow-through, hitting the right length, which is the line between the fourth and fifth stumps, speeding up his arm, and spinning the ball. Spinning the ball is the most important thing. I have seen him get hit a lot in the last few series because he pushed the ball. The seam turns were flatter, and there was no overspin. Any fingerspinner requires the wrist to move over the top of the seam. If the wrist moves to the side, the spinner will undercut the ball.

Chahal is a spin bowler who attacks. He lost his magic in some way…

He was a spinner who tried to attack. Was.

Everyone gets a little bit of a break. Okay, theek hai, I’ve done well, let me take it easy for a while. As soon as you realise that, the pressure starts to build up on you.

When Chahal bowls the fourth-stump line, batters start to hit him.

Every ball should be on the line between the fourth and fifth stumps. He throws most of his googlies from the middle stump. From the middle stump, you can’t bowl a googly. Where did Anil Kumble hit his sixes and fours? Fifth post. That’s where you pull a batsman to get him or her through the bat-pad gap. You’ve seen how many times a legspinner has gotten Virat Kohli out in the last few IPLs. Did he get out from a middle-stump line to a googly? No. Fifth stumbling block.

I use the three-T method: technique, tactics, and personality. You know how to play, and you play for your country. But you also need to pay attention to how they act and what they do. That’s how you get rid of a batsman.

Does Chahal need to improve how fast he bowls?

He gets the ball inside more than he does with speed. That’s not allowed. As a real spinner, Kuldeep has been rewarded for getting on the seam.

Would you choose Kuldeep and Chahal to be on your team for the World Cup, which will be held in India later this year?

We’re talking about seven to eight months away. Kuldeep is in a state of complete relaxation. He should be more consistent. He must consider the tactical aspect. He must decide how he will approach each team and venue. The World Cup is being held in India, but each venue has a unique dimension in terms of pitch, soil, and climate. He needs to prepare accordingly.

Will you put Kuldeep in your team of 11 for the World Cup?

Without a doubt.