"Yuzvendra Chahal needs to work on his bowling" - Danish Kaneria

Danish Kaneria has urged Team India leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to work on his bowling after the latter's underwhelming performance in the T20I series opener against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, January 3.

The former Pakistani cricketer believes that Chahal will continue to struggle in white-ball cricket until he looks to flight the ball. Kaneria pointed out how the crafty spinner hasn't been able to extract much turn off the pitch in his recent outings.

Speaking on his YouTube channel on Wednesday, Kaneria said:

"Yuzvendra Chahal needs to work on his bowling. He hasn't been able to spin the ball a lot in recent matches. He will not be able to take wickets unless he looks to flight the ball. You need a spinner to dominate during the middle overs."

Notably, Chahal was taken to the cleaners by the Sri Lankan batters in the first T20I of the ongoing series at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The 32-year-old failed to pick up a single wicket in the clash and conceded 26 runs from his two overs.

With 87 wickets from 72 outings, Chahal is the second-highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is. However, his recent performances in the shortest format haven't been up to the mark.

He claimed two wickets from as many matches during India's three-match T20I series at an economy rate of 8.71 against New Zealand last year in November.

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"Hardik Pandya showed immense courage as captain" - Danish Kaneria on the Indian skipper's leadership

Danish Kaneria, meanwhile, lauded Indian skipper Hardik Pandya for his courageous captaincy in the opening encounter of the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

He noted how Pandya backed left-arm spinner Axar Patel in the final overs when Sri Lanka required 13 runs to clinch victory. Kaneria praised the all-rounder for supporting the bowler in the crunch situation.

The 42-year-old said:

"Hardik Pandya showed immense courage as captain. Commentators, including Ajit Agarkar, questioned his decision to give Axar Patel the final over. But he was probably struggling with cramps after taking a catch.

"We saw how Hardik was telling Axar Patel that he would take responsibility for the loss if he went for runs. When the captain does that, it gives the bowler a lot of confidence."

Axar did a fine job in the all-important last over, helping the Men in Blue eke out a two-run victory to go 1-0 up in the series. The second T20I between the two nations will be played at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Thursday, January 5.