Former Indian keeper-batter and commentator Dinesh Karthik called Prince Yadav India’s best bowler in the second T20I against New Zealand at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday, October 24.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Karthik asserted that the Indian team management needs to invest in the young seamer for the future. Interestingly, Prince conceded 30 runs and scalped a wicket in his four-over spell. Unfortunately, Shreyas Iyer dropped a catch off Yadav’s bowling.
“I thought he was India’s best bowler in 2nd T20I. Even though Axar bowled economically better, Prince Yadav’s spells were very impressive. The speeds he bowled, he created more opportunities; they dropped a couple of catches. I think he is someone that you can definitely invest in for the future,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
“He looks very sorted; he has got simple plans, but executes them very, very nicely. He has got pace, and overall, if you see among the pacers, definitely the best, but I thought amongst everybody who bowled today, he looked the sharpest,” he added.
Karthik also analysed Glenn Phillips’ performances in the first two games of the series. Phillips currently leads the run-scoring charts with 152 runs from two matches. Karthik noted that batters who find their rhythm against India often go on to enjoy a successful series, citing Shai Hope’s recent performances in the five-match T20I series as an example.
“It seems to be a pattern where if one batter gets going against India, they seem to be having a good series. Now you have to wait and see how Phillips performs for the rest of the series. We saw what Hope did in the last series when we played against West Indies,” Karthik observed.
“The good thing about Phillips is that I think he is understanding his game a lot better. He is making a few tweaks, and he is doing it depending on which part of the innings he’s part of. At the start, he bats quite conventionally, takes down bowlers based on his strengths, but towards the end, he has two different triggers, depending on who is bowling. And he is able to access both sides. He is a lot more powerful on the leg side, but you just can’t get away bowling on the off side. Before you could, now he has got the shot over covers which he hit off Bhuvi,” Karthik concluded.
