‘Kuldeep Yadav Was Picked for World Cup Because Picked Pakistan Struggle Against Wrist Spin’: Ex-PCB Chief

Remember how Kuldeep Yadav cleaned up Babar Azam back in the 2019 World Cup at Old Trafford, Manchester? A tossed-up delivery that spun in sharply to dismantle the wickets after clipping the edge of Babar’s bat. Pakistan had no answer to Kuldeep’s wizardry and even after four years, the men in green are yet to find it.

Earlier in the Asia Cup 2023, Kuldeep bagged a five-wicket haul to decimate Pakistan in Colombo. His prime victims were Fakhar Zaman, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Iftikhar Ahmed. The leg-spinner ran through Pakistan’s middle-order, handing India a 228-run win – their biggest-ever against the arch-rivals in the ODIs.

IND vs PAK ODI World Cup at Narendra Modi Stadium Live Score 

Exactly a month later, Kuldeep will be up against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup game in Ahmedabad and former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja feels that the leg-spinner has been named in the squad keeping in mind the Babar Azam-led side’s struggles against wrist spin.

“I believe Virat Kohli will be the highest run-getter and will definitely give a key performance because of how well he does against them. Also, Pakistan’s bowling attack suits Kohli as well.

“I also think that Kuldeep Yadav will be the highest wicket-taker. And I believe Yadav’s inclusion in the team has been done keeping Pakistan in mind because they struggle against wrist spin,” said Raja on JioCinema’s daily show ‘#AAKASHVANI’.

Just like India, Pakistan has won both of its World Cup matches. But Raja explained why Azam has been struggling to put runs on the board in the competition.

ICC World Cup : SCHEDULE | RESULTS | POINTS TABLE | MOST RUNS | MOST WICKETS

“Babar Azam needs to shine and put some important runs on the board. It could be the case that he may be under pressure and that might be making him freeze and not be his usual self.”

“He will have to forget about all of this and have a fresh mindset, capitalize on the opportunity and back himself to come big in a World Cup fixture. And the important thing is that he is a solid batter – all facets of his game are refined along with class and quality. He just needs to get out of this mental block and not think about failure,” he added.