World Cup 2019: Harbhajan Singh feels Kuldeep and Chahal should have been used better

Indian team’s performance in the ICC World Cup 2019 can be termed as a disappointment given that they were considered to be the favourites to win the tournament. New Zealand bested them in the semi-final in what was a very bad field day for the Men in Blue. In the aftermath, there are many conclusions made about the team’s outing in the event and how they fared.

One thing was for sure that India’s chances were hampered by the fragile middle-order and MS Dhoni’s waning ability to win games on his own. If the top three failed at once, the middle order was unequipped to come good and it happened twice in the tournament, once against England and next in the knockout game against the Blackcaps. However India spinner Harbhajan Singh feels Kohli missed out a trick with a couple of players, as they could have been handled better.

Only team that had two quality spinners

Harbhajan feels that the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav should have been utilized better by the team management and the captain. Chahal managed to scalp just 12 wickets, while Yadav could get just 7 wickets in the mega event, despite bowling in favourable conditions.

“You should remember that there wasn’t a Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan or Anil Kumble playing the World Cup. The only team which had two quality spinners who could win matches on their own was India. But I was a little surprised with the handling of Chahal and Kuldeep during the campaign,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by Times of India.

Harbhajan also pointed out that India missed a trick by benching Kuldeep in the semi-finals against New Zealand given that their batsmen failed to read him properly. “Kuldeep bowled that magic delivery against Pakistan. He gets quite a bit of turn on any surface and most importantly, New Zealand batsmen don’t play him well. I was surprised why he wasn’t in the playing XI in the semis,” the offie further added.

He also had good words for Chahal, who according to him, bowled pretty well and it was only due to the short square boundary against England that was taken apart.