The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy finals was a huge turning point for Pakistan cricket for obvious reasons.
It was also a watershed moment for India’s then spin-twins – Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, for different reasons.
The shambolic loss at the hands of the arch-rivals spurred a wind of change for Virat Kohli’s team India. The skipper and team management had made up their minds – the era of finger spinners had come to an end as wrist-spinners began to rule the roost.
The likes of England’s Adil Rashid, Pakistan’s Shadab Khan and South Africa’s Imran Tahir had all finished ahead of Jadeja and Ashwin in the wicket-taking column for the global tournament. Jadeja picked up four wickets at the tournament at an average of over 62 while Ashwin’s sole wicket came at a painful average of 167.
So when India toured the West Indies after the Champions Trophy, the senior duo were dispensed of for the limited-overs clash with young Kuldeep Yadav being thrown into the deep end. The youngster performed more than admirably on the tour, picking up eight wickets in the four matches.
Since then, it has been Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal who have become India’s two mainstay spinners in the format as series wins over Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand followed. The new wrist-spin twins are currently tearing it up on the hard surfaces of South Africa with 13 wickets them after the opening two ODIs.
Kuldeep and Chahal are going from strength to strength.
In 19 ODIs so far, Chahal has picked up 34 wickets at an average of 21.88 and a strike-rate of 28.8. Similarly, Kuldeep has picked up 28 wickets at an average of 21.30 and a strike-rate of 27.3.
In comparison, Ashwin averages around 33 with a strike-rate of 40 after 111 matches while Jadeja averages 36 with a strike-rate nearing 44 after 136 matches.
The difference is crystal clear, India’s current spin pair are a more attacking outlet than the senior duo when it comes to taking wickets. Not only are the two wrist-spinners a far greater wicket-taking threat, they are also more economical than their senior counterparts.
With the wrist-spin duo only going from strength to strength, it seems the end of the road for Ashwin’s and Jadeja’s limited-overs career is near. The former is reportedly working on his leg-spin for the upcoming IPL, a sign of the times if one was ever needed.