India's wrist-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal, left, and Kuldeep Yadav (Getty Images)

CHENNAI: Ever since the combination of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav conceded 160 runs in 20 overs for just one wicket in their loss to England at Edgbaston in the World Cup, India have opted against fielding the wrist-spin duo together.

While left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja has made a strong comeback in the limited-overs set-up recently — the performance against New Zealand in the World Cup semifinal being the highlight — the exclusion of the two wrist-spinners from the playing XI has been curious. In fact, there have been occasions where both have been left out of the squad.

Both Kuldeep and Chahal are now back in the squad, though, at a venue where their chemistry perhaps took shape.

It was against Australia at Chepauk in September 2017 that India saw the benefits of playing the ‘KulCha’ combine for the first time. Up against a strong Australia side, they took five wickets between them, including that of David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis. They went on to play a crucial role for India in ODIs till the World Cup, playing 34 matches and taking 118 wickets.

As the Men in Blue get ready to take on West Indies in the first ODI on Sunday, one will have to ponder whether the Indian team has put the possibility of playing the wrist-spin combination in cold storage?

India bowling coach Bharat Arun seemed to indicate as much on Friday, unless the conditions on offer are clearly conducive to spin bowling.

“See, we were looking at an ideal combination which lends absolute balance to the team. Also, there was the option of playing Jadeja as an all-rounder, which has really helped us. Yes, there may be occasions when there are conducive conditions and both can play together, but we will have to look at the overall balance before we decide the team,” the former India pacer said, stressing on the importance of team balance.

Recently, the ability of the spinners to contribute with the bat, particularly in the T20 format, has also been stressed upon by none other than Virat Kohli . But shouldn’t match-winners like Chahal and Kuldeep be judged on their ability with the ball alone? Arun himself seemed to agree.

“If you can bat in ODI and T20 cricket , it will give us a different dimension. You should be exceptional in at least two skills. If they can bat, it lends a lot more balance to the team. But as it is, Kuldeep and Chahal can be match-winners on their day. When it comes to match-winners, you forego the other aspects. They can win you matches just by one skill alone,” Arun conceded.

