Kuldeep Yadav continues to prove his importance in the Indian cricket team with yet another stellar show against the West Indies in the ongoing tour. In the fourth T20I on Saturday in Lauderhill, the Chinaman bowler dismissed two big guns – Nicholas Pooran and home captain Rovman Powell – in the sixth over leaving the opposition tottering. Kuldeep returned decent figures of 2 for 26 in 4 overs, becoming the joint-highest wicket-taker of the ongoing series with 6 scalps in three games.
Kuldeep has been one of the most consistent Indian bowlers in the past 12 months. He has taken 48 wickets in his last 25 games across formats with most of them scalped in the ODIs; 32 wickets in 18 games. However, the phase before that was one of the toughest in the cricketer’s life.
His career started heading south after the 2019 world cup. He lost his place in the Indian team while his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) also showed the least faith in him. The franchise released him in 2021 after benching him for the entire season. A dejected Kuldeep found peace in Delhi Capitals and eventually ended up being their top bowler in the next two seasons. It was head coach Ricky Ponting and captain Rishabh Pant who showed faith in him and helped him reveal his best version.
In an interaction with the Indian Express, Kuldeep’s childhood coach, Kapil Pandey, explained how the DC coaching staff helped the leg-spinner redefine his career.
“Ricky Ponting told him ‘I am going to play you all the matches. There is a reason Warnie (Shane Warne) likes you and I can see why. You are going to be our matchwinner’,” Kapil Pandey told The Indian Express.
“Rishabh told him ‘aapko acha karna hoga bhaiya, aapse bada bowler nahi hai India mein (you have to do well, there is no better bowler than you in India)’.
“Shane Watson worked on his batting. He found a home at Delhi and you can see the performances,” added Pandey.
The endless support reflected largely on Kuldeep’s performance when he picked up 21 wickets in 2022 which also turned out to be his best season in the IPL since making his debut. In the last edition, Kuldeep bagged 10 wickets in 14 games at an average of 28.39.
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