Ahead of the three-match ODI series against West Indies, Rohit Sharma on Saturday said that playing Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal together is certainly on his mind. Rohit further added that Kuldeep needs time to settle as the spinner has been away from the Indian team for a very long time.
Team India is all set to lock horns with West Indies in the first ODI of the three-match series on Sunday in Ahmedabad. Rohit Sharma, who missed out on the bilateral series in South Africa will be back in action, and the first 50-over match against West Indies will also mark the beginning of the Indian opener’s ODI captaincy stint.
Rohit was expected to begin his ODI captaincy stint during the limited-overs series in the rainbow nation, however, a hamstring injury ruled him out of the entire South Africa tour. Kuldeep Yadav, who has been out of the Indian team for a very long time, has also made his comeback to the national squad. The ODI series against West Indies will also witness the reunion of Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal with the bowl. The spin duo has played 36 ODIs together and scalped 125 wickets between them during the 2017-2021 period. However, the poor performance of Kuldeep eventually sidelined him from the senior national team.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma stated that playing Kuldeep and Chahal together is certainly on his mind.
“Kuldeep and Chahal have been great performers for us in the past and they have created an impact in those years whenever they have played together, in the middle they were left out because of the combination we wanted to get. It is certainly on my mind to get them back together, Kuldeep especially,” said Rohit while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.
Kuldeep last played an ODI for India during the Sri Lanka tour in 2021. The left-arm chinaman spinner featured in two ODIs against Sri Lanka, and scalped two wickets at an economy rate of 5.42. Rohit reckoned that Kuldeep needs time to settle as the spinner has been away from the Indian team for a very long time.
“We want to get Kuldeep in slowly, we do not want him to be rushed. It is important to give him some time to come into his own groove, we do not want to put him in a situation where we are asking too much from him also. I think for us, it is important that we handle the situation carefully. Both these players are important. Chahal played in South Africa and Kuldeep has just gotten back into the squad. Kuldeep needs to play a lot of games to get his rhythm back and we understand that,” he added.
