‘Virat Kohli was captain but they were listening to MS Dhoni’ – Dinesh Karthik sheds light on Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav’s downfall

Post the 2017 Champions Trophy, India’s white-ball team saw a revolution with Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal replacing Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as primary spinners. The two wrist spinners hunted in tandem and tormented one batting line-up after another. Their brilliance over the 22 yards also earned them the nickname ‘Kul-Cha.’ However, the duo suffered a shocking decline post the 2019 World Cup and even lost a permanent place in the playing XI.

Neither of the two featured in the last year’s T20 World Cup with the selectors going back to Jadeja and Ashwin. Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who has shared the dressing room with both players, threw light on the duo’s downfall. He feels the absence of MS Dhoni behind the stumps has played a major role behind their decline.

MS Dhoni helped them a lot: Dinesh Karthik

“100 percent. I think that the advent of their bowling has dipped because somebody like MS Dhoni is not there, for sure. Because I’ve seen how much he helped them. They don’t need help when the going gets good or they’re bowling and getting beaten, or when they don’t know which way the bowl will turn,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

“But when somebody hits a slog-sweep or just plays the reverse-sweep, then you have the wise words of wisdom coming from a man who has so much experience and they love him so much. They worth the weight (of Dhoni’s words) in gold. They completely trust him,” he added.

Karthik further stated that Virat Kohli might have been captain in majority of the games involving Kuldeep and Yadav. However, it was Dhoni whom the duo were listening to.

“Virat Kohli could’ve been the captain in many of those matches, but who were they listening to? If I’m honest, definitely MS Dhoni. What field to set, what line to bowl, what must the batsman be thinking.. these are the three questions that keep revolving in their minds. For all three questions, the man to give the best answer is without doubt the keeper, which happens to be MS Dhoni. And he really guided them well,” said the 36-year-old.