Delhi Capitals’ Kuldeep Yadav, left, with captain Axar Patel. (PTI photo) NEW DELHI: The contest between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders here at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday night offers an interesting subplot. India’s top three spin options will be on display in the T20 setup – Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. While they were part of India’s best World Cup T20 title defense in March, the trio have endured their share of struggles since then.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!For KKR’s Varun, problems began to crop up during this successful T20 World Cup campaign. Although he emerged as the highest wicket-taker alongside Jasprit Bumrah with 14 wickets, the opposition seemed to have a better understanding of his puzzling turnaround from the Super-8 stage. He has taken just five wickets in his last five World Cup matches and his tournament economy has climbed to over nine.
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Hemang Badani admits ‘perform or perish’ as DC faces must-win situationHis lean patch continued in the early stages of the IPL as Varun lost a wicket in the first two matches before a hand injury sidelined him. In fact, Varun had to wait until his fourth match this season against Gujarat Titans to get into the wickettakers column as he finished with 2/34 in Ahmedabad.However, once back in goal, the 34-year-old showed signs of returning to his best. He used the crease well in the last few matches and came up with subtle variations to reap the rewards. He has taken eight wickets in the last three matches, matching KKR’s hat-trick of wins.KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo said the injury seems to have done Varun a world of good. “Varun is a top-class spinner and has just come back from a hectic World Cup. Sometimes a break at the right time is important. No one doubted his ability. The group supported him throughout,” said the former West Indies all-rounder.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Varun Chakaravarthy (ANI Photo)
On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav of Delhi Capitals is having a nightmare season. The rust from warming the bench for much of India’s World Cup T20 campaign seems to be showing. He was guilty of bowling too short and took just seven wickets in 10 matches, going for more than 10 runs per over.However, Kuldeep’s teammate David Miller supported the left arm. “He’s a great character and it’s important to me that those guys play all the time because he’s a match winner. So take the good with the bad. There were one or two games where he didn’t play his best,” Miller said.
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However, DC Skipper Axar fared better than his spin-bowling partner. Although he is the team’s leading wicket-taker this season, nine wickets in 10 matches is not a statistic the left-arm spinner is too proud of. Additionally, some of the decisions Axar has made as captain have drawn criticism and he will feel the heat.
