While Pakistan, who were thrashed by India in their tournament opener, going on to win Champions Trophy 2017 was unexpected, Virat Kohli's spinners struggling to pick up wickets in the middle overs at the quadrennial event baffled viewers even more.
R Ashwin, Virat Kohli's go-to-man in whites, picked up only one wicket at an average of 167 from three matches in England. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner was not even in the squad for the first two matches of the group stages. On the other hand, his partner in crime -- Ravindra Jadeja -- managed three more, but the left-arm spinner's average was also on the higher side.
Not just India, but quite a lot of teams, who banked on finger spinners, have been struggling to be effective in the limited-overs format. Notably, there was no finger spinner in the top-15 wicket-takers of Champions Trophy 2017, but three wrist spinners made it to the list.
Take Indian Premier League 2017 for instance. The likes of Imran Tahir, Rashid Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal and Karn Sharma -- all of them wrist spinners -- found a lot of success and made big impacts in their teams' successful run in the lucrative tournament.
It is relatively easier for the finger spinners to perform in subcontinent conditions where the pitch offers or at least is known to offer a lot of assistance. However, in conditions similar to Australian and English tracks, you need the wrists at work to get the ball turning.
In the modern era, regardless of the venue, curators are expected to prepare flat tracks so that the viewers can relish balls flying out of the boundary line at regular intervals. Especially, in One Day International Cricket, which is becoming meaningless after the success of Twenty20 cricket, batsman-friendly tracks are the way to go.
Teams have also started to adapt to the changing times and we are seeing more wrist spinners in the game nowadays. If early signs are anything to go by, India too have realised the same.
Right after India's loss to Pakistan in the final of Champions Trophy, Rahul Dravid, who was part of ESPNcricinfo's panel, stressed on the need for India to look out for a wrist spinner. The batting great also suggested India give more game time to Kuldeep Yadav, who made an immediate impact at the international level when he troubled Australian batsmen in the decider of the four-match Test series at Dharamsala earlier this year.
Kuldeep was handed his ODI debut in the first of the five-match ODI series in West Indies last Friday, June 23 and rightly so. Despite not getting to bowl in the rain-abandoned opener, the 22-year-old made most of the opportunity in the second ODI on Sunday by picking up three crucial wickets in the middle-order, which derailed the West Indies' chase of 311.
And Kohli was all praise for the young wrist spinner. The performances of Ashwin and Jadeja were so underwhelming in the Champions Trophy that the Indian skipper even gave a thought about the team combination for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 right after the Port of Spain encounter and said having a wrist spinner in the team "is a bonus".
The skipper conceded he also found it difficult to pick Kuldeep off his wrists in the nets. Notably, Kohli spoke in detail about how the Uttar Pradesh tweaker used his cross-seam deliveries for turning the ball both ways.
"I have faced him in the IPL as well, he is not easy to get away - especially when the wicket is dry like it was today, he becomes even more lethal. It becomes difficult when he bowls cross-seam deliveries turning both ways," Kohli said.
"A wrist spinner is always a bonus, something we have identified now in this series, so all sorts of options are open. [For] the 2019 World Cup, we have got 15 players here, then we have got a pool of 10 or 12 back home who will probably be tested over the next two years, see how they react in pressure situations, and who is able to make more impact through the middle overs for us, especially with the ball," he added.
Both Ashwin and Jadeja are undeniably good. Given the way they have led India to the top of the ICC ladder in Tests, it should not be surprising if they find ways to become more effective in limited-overs as well. Notably, the former, who is known for coming with variations, bamboozled the West Indies' batsmen with his leg-spinners on Sunday.
However, Kuldeep is someone, who can provide a lot of variety to the Indian attack. The youngster also proved he is a big-match material when he outfoxed Australian batsmen in the Dharamsala series decider.
It would have been ideal if Kuldeep had been there with the Men in Blue in England for the recently-concluded Champions Trophy. However, as Dravid says, it's about time the Indian think tank starts investing in the young wrist-spinner and gets him ready for the ultimate battle in 2019.
