"Bowling fast does not help a spinner" - Former Indian spinner rubbishes Irfan Pathan's logic for decoding Kuldeep Yadav's success

Former Indian leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has questioned Irfan Pathan's logic after he tried to decode exactly what Kuldeep Yadav has changed in his bowling that has brought him consistent success.

The left-arm wrist-spinner picked up three wickets for just 51 runs in the second ODI against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens and won the Man of the Match award.

Irfan Pathan took to Twitter to post images of how Kuldeep Yadav approached the crease back in 2019 and how differently he is doing the same at present. The former all-rounder feels it is the change in angle that has helped Kuldeep become quicker through the air and scalp wickets consistently.

He tweeted:

"Kuldeep Yadav has changed his run up angle that has changed his alignment & that is helping him to bowl quicker. Fantastic work by him 👏"

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Laxman Sivaramakrishnan highlights the real reason for Kuldeep Yadav's success

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan was baffled to read this theory from Pathan. The former wrist-spinner believes Kuldeep has learned to balance his body and get more revolutions on the ball, thereby making it turn more.

Pointing out that just bowling quickly doesn't make a spinner effective, he tweeted:

"I don’t know what was discussed on commentary. Bowling fast does not help a spinner. You HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD, BALANCE YOUR BODY will allow Kuldeep to spin more through the air, hence being more effective. MORE SPIN MORE BITE OF THE PITCH, that’s why they are called Spinners"

In another tweet on the same thread, he wrote:

"If they bowl quick it will skid of the pitch and not be effective. Bowling slower through the air, spinning more and a good finish is required. Bowl with the body and not your hand alone"

It will be interesting to see whether Kuldeep gets consistent chances in the Indian team, with the 2023 World Cup being the bigger picture.