By the end of 2021, Kuldeep Yadav was facing an uncertain future. As a result of his decline in India’s order of importance, Kolkata Knight Riders benched him for the whole IPL season. But during the past year or two, Kuldeep has changed his situation to earn a spot in the World Cup-bound Indian team of 15, which was unveiled on Tuesday. In the grand scheme of things for India, Kuldeep has also edged out off-spinners Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. His assertion is supported by data as well. Scroll down to read Kuldeep Yadav Breaks Into The World Cup Squad.
Kuldeep Yadav Breaks Into The World Cup Squad
The left-arm wrist spinner has the most ODI wickets of any Indian bowler with 23 from 13 matches thus far this year. So how did he introduce that transformation? “Determination,” said Kapil Pandey, Kuldeep’s childhood coach.
Pandey said, “He was devastated. He wasn’t even receiving game time with KKR, let alone representing India. A bowler must continue honing his techniques to advance in the sport. But he remained persistent and continued working out with me at the nets for a considerable amount of time. To improve his bowling, we worked on several factors, including delivery speed. However, to improve his game, every cricketer needs the guidance of an experienced hand, someone who has done it all.”
Sunil Joshi was that guy for Kuldeep.
At the NCA, the former India left-arm spinner took Kuldeep under his wing and taught him some important things. “In reality, as Kuldeep moved down the line, I was a member of the selection panel. The sight of a talented bowler losing his game was unpleasant. So, we got together at the NCA and planned our next steps,” Joshi told PTI.
Joshi claimed that at the time Kuldeep needed to improve his bowling and was a little low in confidence.
There were days of arduous labor at the NCA nets.
His motion and approach (to the bowling crease) needed to be corrected, so Joshi said they mostly concentrated on technical matters like shortening his steps and quickening his arm speed. Kuldeep lost his precision and quickness off the pitch during this period of turbulence, which made him appear ordinary. He also let up a lot of runs.
Joshi offered a couple more adjustments, and Kuldeep toiled away at it.
“He was not paying attention at the time, as seen by his scattershot bowling. But today, if you look closely, you can see that he has the batters in a good position; his bowling arm is directly in front of the batter, and even his strides are pointed in that direction,” observed Joshi.
Kuldeep’s switch from KKR to Delhi Capitals in the IPL worked wonders at this time. “Kuldeep was telling me that (head coach) Ricky Ponting gave him a lot of support at DC and gave him assurances of getting adequate game time. The backing of a captain and coach is crucial for a bowler, which is why Pandey believed MS Dhoni was the best for him, he continued.
According to Joshi, Kuldeep will likely be Rohit Sharma’s go-to bowler during the ODI World Cup. He may take the ball away from left-handed batters, thus he must pitch to them with his stock ball (the one that enters if a hitter is right-handed). The fact that many teams have two or three left-handers in their batting order would be helpful for India.
As Joshi put it, “Kuldeep will have to use that one that goes away from them (the wrong’un) while bowling against the right-hander, as it will keep them in doubt.”
Joshi advised the squad to fully capitalize on Kuldeep’s innate predatory tendencies. “He is an effective wicket-taker who will be extremely useful in the middle overs. To increase pressure, bowlers like (Ravindra) Jadeja or Axar (Patel) buy wickets by restricting the run flow. But Kuldeep can win matches with simply his variations in any situation. So, watching him play at the World Cup will be exciting,” he continued.
Kuldeep Yadav Career
On March 25, 2017, Kuldeep Yadav played in his first Test match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala against the Australian cricket team. Following this, the first One Day International match was played on June 23, 2017, in Port of Spain, against the Windies side, and the first Twenty20 International match was played on July 9, 2017, in Kingston, against the West Indies.
He was given another opportunity in the Test team for India’s tour of England in 2018 after making his Test debut.
In an ODI match against England in 2018, Kuldeep Yadav bowled the greatest of his career. For the first time in his career, Kuldeep claimed five or more wickets. Along with setting a new One Day International world record for best bowling (6/25) as a left-arm wrist spinner, Kuldeep had also grabbed six wickets for 25 runs. The previous owner of this record was Brad Hogg from Australia. In 2005, he defeated the West Indies in Melbourne by taking 5 wickets for 32 runs.
In 2020, Kuldeep Yadav will have taken 100 wickets in One Day Internationals. With this, he became the third Indian to reach 100 ODI international wickets in the quickest time. After participating in 58 games, he has achieved his 100 wickets in One Day Internationals.
