Give them the finger: Virat Kohli explains India’s spin shift

James Richardson
October 17, 2021

Virat Kohli has moved to explain why India have opted to favour finger spinners for the T20 World Cup.

Kohli believes that finger spinners have greater control which is a big asset in T20 cricket where so much of the bowling strategy is about containment.

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Virat Kohli explains India’s spin shift

This shift has allowed India to tap into the skills of multi-format stars Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

“Wrist spinners were the ones in demand, mostly through that middle period, but now the finger spinners with that accuracy have come back into the game again, so we also have to evolve as a team with the evolving trend of the game. With Ash and the likes of Ravindra Jadeja as well, performing beautifully. These guys can be very consistent,” Kohli said.

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Kohli defended the decision to recall Ashwin, who has increasingly been seen as a red-ball specialist.

Ashwin’s IPL ended on a sour note as he was hit for six by Rahul Tripathi to end the Delhi Capitals, but it is his willingness to take on the challenge of bowling difficult overs that has won over Kohli.

“Ashwin has been rewarded for reviving his white-ball skills altogether. He bowls with a lot of courage in white-ball cricket,” said Kohli.

“If you saw the IPL in the last couple of years, he’s bowled difficult overs; he’s bowled against the top players in the IPL and not being shy to put the ball in the right areas. Spinners can get intimidated by the way power hitters hit the ball, but Ashwin believed in his skill set.

“We felt like the way he was bowling and his variations now and his control over pace is something which is … again a lot of experience, a guy who has played a lot of international cricket and he’s at his confident best. These guys can go in there and change the game with their spells.”