Gargi Raut
Q: From one chinaman to another. How do you assess Kuldeep’s evolution in the past couple of years, now that he’s making his comeback into the Test team?
Look, I think it’s just great. Any young fella out there or young player out there, whether male or female, you’re going to have your ups and downs as you go through your career. And Kuldeep Yadav has had that. You have a taste of international cricket. Then you’ve got to go back and reassess, right? I’ve had this taste. I’ve got these skills. This is where I was really strong. This is where my weaknesses are. What do I have to add to my game, both physically, technically and mentally, to make sure that when I get that next opportunity, I’m right for the picking and I’m ready to go.
And most of it with Kuldeep Yadav was just trying to get his action on a little bit straighter, come over the top and get a little bit more overspin. But the other thing is just that belief within himself as well, to be in that contest. And mostly, anyone out at the top of their game or playing at the highest level, you’ve got the skill. Mainly it’s about the mental process. And I think he’s really improved there as well as getting that overspin. And I think he really needs that overspin over in England.
Q: When you talk about Kuldeep’s skill set, he has been consistent without losing the aspect of mystery. What do you think has been the secret behind that?
Just a more stable foundation out the crease. Beforehand, he was sort of moving that front foot across. He was bringing his front arm across his body as well. So he’s bowling more front-on, but he’s a little bit more side-on at the present moment. And that’s creating that consistency. And he’s getting better shape on the ball as well. And every now and then he’s going to lose that.
Shane Warne went through his ups and downs with his action as well. But he knew what his foundation was and he knew when he was actually losing it. And he had those little triggers to be able to get back on song and get that action in and get the delivery that he wants out the other end.
And I think over in English conditions, especially with England who love to sweep against mystery spin like the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, you do need that ball to have that extra bounce so that you get that top edge as well. And I think that’s one thing that Kuldeep has really added to his armory. He’s got great variation. He’s very hard to pick. And I think it’s great that he’s back in that Test team. And I think he is going to be the difference in this series.
Q: If you were to give Kuldeep advice on how to bowl in English conditions that necessarily do not suit spin, like what pace to bowl at or how to outwit the batters over there…
Look, I think you adjust to each different ground that you play in over there. And I think with the Dukes ball, the Dukes ball is a little different as well. I found the Dukes ball rather slippery when I was playing over in English conditions. I preferred the white-ball game over there with the Kookaburra. You seem to have more grip. So I think that’s one thing with players that are playing all formats and in different conditions and having a variety of balls, you’ve got to have those balls in your bag and make sure you just pull them out every now and then and get used to them and keep that grip. And that’s one thing that I really loved about Ashwin and I think Kuldeep Yadav could learn from, is that if there was a challenge out there, something that was a little different that you had to learn and grow your game, he went out there and just trained hard and really took on those challenges.
EXCLUSIVE | “Kuldeep Yadav Must Play Every Test!” Brad Hogg predicts a breakout series for the wrist-spinner in England. @gargiraut15 @Brad_Hogg https://t.co/LuQ7S78LmF
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) June 15, 2025
And one of those challenges is working with the Dukes ball. But Kuldeep’s been over in England before. He’s had a taste of it. So he knows as long as he’s learned from those experiences over in England beforehand, whether it’s just in the nets or so forth, as long as he learns from them, talks to Jadeja who’s been over there a long period of time as well, he’ll be able to get those coping mechanisms and get the right plan in place to be able to really ignite over there in England. I think England is a great place to bowl spin, especially leg-spin. Shane Warne loved it over there. Stuart MacGill loved it over there. I loved it over there. It’s just one of those things, for leg spinners, it’s great conditions if you can get the ball in the right area.
Q: Would you play him in Leeds? Would you have him in the Playing XI?
I’d play him in every team. If I was going through the Indian bowling lineup, I’d probably have Jadeja in there as one of the options, batting deeper down. You’d have Pant coming in at number six, Jadeja at seven, and then Kuldeep. And I’d have Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, I think you need a left-arm bowler there, and I’d go with Prasidh as well. Prasidh has got that extra height.
Really loving what he’s got at the moment. He’s got plenty of energy and with that extra height and bounce, he adds that variety. So you’ve got left-arm variety there in your pace, a little bit of height, and then Bumrah with his reverse swing and natural swing as well. And then you’ve got two spinners there. The reason why I did bring up Pandya is I would have liked the medium-pace all-rounder over there, but he’s not in that particular squad. So I’d definitely go with Jadeja in that lineup. And you can also have Reddy batting down in the lower order as well with his little medium pacers. So India have got good balance there in their bowling department.
Q: You have Shardul Thakur as an option as well…
Yeah, the thing with Thakur and I’m sorry about this Shardul Thakur and any fans out there with Thakur, the thing with him, I love his all-round ability, but I just think he’s let himself down over his career with his fitness. I just don’t think he’s looked after himself and I don’t know whether you can have him in that lineup. I’d still stick with Jadeja. I think Jadeja adds better depth with your batting. And you might be able to have Reddy in there as well with the bat and just bowling a few medium pacers. But I don’t think you can go there with Thakur. I just don’t think he’s fit enough.
I don’t think he would play all five Test matches. I think if you rock up and conditions look as though, or the pitch is green and it’s going to seam and it looks as though it’s going to be overcast for a three- or four-day period through the Test match, you might think about playing Shardul Thakur. But I wouldn’t be rushing in there and having him in my main eleven. I just don’t think his fitness will be up to it for the five Test matches.
You started the show by saying that you don’t have a Rohit Sharma and a Virat Kohli anymore. That’s a gaping void in the dressing room when it comes to experience and batting ability. How does the team tackle that?
Look, it’s very simple. I think the coach there, I think he’s the right man for this job. He reminds me of a Justin Langer where you need someone who’s strong at the helm to take the fire, but also to bring these young troops through. We’ve seen him do it at KKR. KKR had success with him there. So he has that ability to bring the young troops through. So I think he’s fantastic. I’d like to see Nair play a lot more. Shubman Gill will be opening the batting and I’d have him opening the batting with Jaiswal as well, probably. Then you’ve got Pant coming in at six, as I said. You’d have KL Rahul, Nair there. And I’m just trying to figure out who else you’d have in there. I’d actually have Sudharsan in there as well, coming in at number three. So you’ve got a lot of youth up there. Sudharsan, the way that he played in the T20 games, I just thought he’s got a fantastic technique. Just love the way that he plays the ball late. He’s able to hit those gaps behind point while still playing a straight bat and work off his pads. So I think he’s got an excellent technique for playing the ball late. I’d like to have him opening the batting. You might have Gill at number three, but I still like that right-hand and left-hand combination.
And I think Sudharsan is probably going to be the best bat out of those three going forward. So I think he’s probably best suited at three, or maybe four, and have the experience of Nair coming in at three. Then you have Rahul, Pant and Jadeja coming in that middle order where you’ve got that experience. And hopefully the shine’s been taken away from the new ball. They can really stamp their authority there and then go into that second new ball and really take the game away from England. So that’s how I’d go about it with the lineup they’ve got there now or the squad that they’ve got. I think Nair definitely needs another opportunity. He was a shining light when he first came on the scene. Give him another opportunity. And there were a few touches of his brilliance through the IPL. I know that’s T20 cricket, but he’s got a solid defence. Get him in there.
Q: While discussing about Shubman Gill, there’s a lot of weight on his shoulders at this point. Is there more pressure on Gill the batter or Gill the captain?
Look, if I was in the management, I would be going over to England and going, ‘right we really want to win this series, but we’ve got a new team. We’ve got a new captain.
We have to make sure we give all of these youngsters the support that they need moving forward. We’re going into a new era. We’re going to opposition territory.’
So for me, it’s just about supporting and learning. It’s about the future, not about so much today.
Yes, we all want success. We all want that win today. But if they lose the first Test match, it’s about how they rebound from the second Test match. And one thing that I’ll be really looking at is how these youngsters adapt to Test match pressure and how they’re growing throughout the series. And with that growth, once they find their feet at this arena, Gill finds his captaincy, the other players that are just starting out, Sudharsan and Jaiswal, are getting more exposure. As they start to find their feet and really take control and take over the mantle of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and they really find that culture within there, all of a sudden they can really take the game away. So for me, I wouldn’t be worried too much about the first couple of Test matches. It’s more at the back end, how has this team grown moving forward?
And once they get a strong culture and they’ve had a few lessons of losses and then turn those losses into wins, they become a stronger unit. They’re learning, they’re growing, and they’ll be better off for it down the track. And when they come back down to Australia, because they’ve had that tough initiation as a new group in England, they’ll be better fit to take on Australia down here, which is probably the second-hardest tournament that they’ll have outside of their country. Actually, I’m not sure, I’d say the hardest. England’s a little bit easier.
Let’s focus on Jasprit Bumrah now. We know that he’s going to play a maximum of three Tests. When you take that into consideration, what do you make of the Indian attack?
I think the Indian bowling line-up is very well balanced. I think Prasidh Krishna, who I alluded to earlier, I think he’s got the fitness, he’s got the capability of playing all five Test matches and I think he’s going to be the glue of this bowling attack. When I say the glue of this bowling attack, I mean that he’s there for the five Test matches. So he’s what you’re basing the attack around. Bumrah is coming in for three Test matches. You’ve got to be very strategic with those three Test matches. Where are you going to get the most benefit out of him? Because he can turn the game, he can turn the series on its head. So you want to make sure that you play him at Lord’s, definitely, and probably Warwickshire.
And I don’t know where you’d play him in the other three Test matches, but you want to make sure you play him in those crucial games. I probably wouldn’t even play him in the first Test match, actually. I’d just go, right, England, we don’t have Bumrah. And you could just see England going, oh, they don’t have Bumrah. That’s good. We don’t have to face Bumrah. But then they’re going to worry about him in the second Test match. And if he turns the tide in the second Test match, then all of a sudden England are playing catch-up. So I’d have a little bit of by-play there. But Siraj or Akash Deep, I love Siraj’s energy. So I’d be swapping Bumrah and Siraj, just rotating those two. And I’d be having Prasidh as my bowler that plays the whole time. Akash Deep, I think he would be great at Lord’s using that slope. But I just think you need that extra pace and bounce. So that’s probably why I’d play Siraj in front of Akash Deep when Bumrah is not there. You’ve got to have Arshdeep Singh in there because he’s a left-hander and he just has that different angle.