Kedar finds his bowling cues in MS Dhoni’s eyes

It was evident in part-time off-spinner Jadhav effecting twin dismissals of set batsmen like Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, which played a big role in India’s victory. 

“From the time I have been in this Indian team, I have been spending a lot of time with MS Dhoni, trying to soak in all the knowledge he has. I share a bond with him and if I can read from his eyes as to what he wants me to bowl. I just try to bowl that delivery and it works,” Jadhav said, making it clear as to what role the former India captain plays in fine tuning a strategy for Kohli.

In fact, Kohli admitted that it was Dhoni, who suggested that Jadhav be brought as the Bangladeshi batsmen were playing other spinners comfortably. “Yes, when moves like this pay off, I won’t take the whole credit. Obviously, I asked MS as well, and we both decided that Kedar was a good option at the moment, and he bowled really well. Credit to him,” Kohli had said after the match. 

“Kedar doesn’t bowl much in the nets, but he is a smart cricketer. He knows where the batsmen will be troubled, and if you can think like a batsman when you are bowling, it’s obviously a bit of an advantage to any bowler. So, I think that today he executed plans perfectly,” the skipper said. 

The confidence he has in his bowling comes from the fact that Dhoni used him as a surprise weapon during the ODI series at home against New Zealand last year. 

“Before this game, I had six wickets in ODIs, most of them were pure batsmen and not tail-enders. I had that confidence in my bowling that if a batsman tries to go for big shots, he will find it difficult because of my variations in pace,” he explained.