"It is definitely on" - Mohammad Kaif says Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal can play together going forward

Mohammad Kaif sees Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal playing together for India in T20I cricket quite often going forward.

The two wrist-spinners were fielded in the Men in Blue's playing XI in the second T20I against New Zealand in Lucknow on Sunday, January 29. It will be interesting to see if the duo play in tandem once again in the series-deciding final T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 1.

During an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Match Point', Kaif was asked whether a trend is emerging that Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal could play together with India picking three spinners in the XI. He responded positively, saying:

"Absolutely, you can do three and three. It is definitely on because they are quality bowlers. Kuldeep and Chahal bring with them a lot of experience. The guy who comes to bat at No. 7 is an all-rounder."

The former Indian batter believes Washington Sundar's emergence as a capable batter at No. 7 will allow India to experiment with their bowling attack, reasoning:

"With Washington Sundar being there, you can play around because you have got a batter at No. 7. You need batting till No. 7 only in T20 cricket because the No. 8 does not get to bat. So you have a solid batter at No. 7."

Apart from Sundar, India also have Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel as capable spin-bowling all-rounders. The Indian think tank might, however, want to play either of the two left-arm spinners in tandem with Sundar to add a little depth to the batting instead of playing both Kuldeep and Chahal.

---

"You don't see anything lacking there" - Mohammad Kaif on Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal playing together

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have played 11 T20Is in tandem.

Kaif feels that Kuldeep and Chahal's wicket-taking abilities allow them to be fielded together, elaborating:

"Then you need wicket-takers who are match-winners, which Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal are. Then you have fast bowlers. Three and three is the way to go forward. There is nothing wrong with that because you don't see anything lacking there."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Hardik Pandya's presence gives India a sixth bowling option and a third seamer, observing:

"Hardik Pandya comes at No. 6. He is also an all-rounder. So you can go with six bowlers, the batting is also there till No. 7, and the six bowlers you have are proper wicket-takers. So I feel you will see this approach quite a lot going forward."

India have won nine of the 11 T20Is Kuldeep and Chahal have played together. The losses came against Australia and England in Guwahati and Cardiff respectively, with the duo scalping just a solitary wicket between them across the two games.