Ben Stokes felt technology played spoilsport in Vizag when Zak Crawley was given out. For India and Kuldeep Yadav, however, it was the turning point in the game. Crawley gone for 73, and India could sense victory. Kuldeep, who had literally pleaded with Rohit Sharma to take the review, was a bundle of emotion when ball-tracking showed three reds. He literally couldn’t control himself, and his screams were proof what the wicket meant to him.
For Kuldeep, the last few years have been tough. Benched on occasions, he had also lost his spot in the Indian T20 team. Playing for KKR for a period, the wickets at the Eden Gardens did not suit him, and all of a sudden, India’s most promising spinner seemed to have lost his sting. He was released ahead of the auctions in 2022 and was no longer a star draw. Delhi Capitals picked him up at base price, and when compared to some of the other auction buys, it was certainly a downer for him. Add the surgery, which had kept him out of cricket for six months, and it was evident Kuldeep was going through the lowest phase he had for a while.
But that’s the beauty of sport. It allows you to both win and fail in public. Kuldeep had failed his fans at KKR and suffered in the process. The injury did not help either. He was being tested in every sense. And that’s when he had to dig deep. Stay resilient. Put in the hard yards. Train in silence and get battle ready. He did.
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Up until the 2019 World Cup, things looked perfect for Kuldeep. Following up on a dream debut, Kuldeep had performed consistently well each time Virat Kohli had thrown him the ball. And in fact, he got better with every series. One man who knows Kuldeep well and has followed his progress from close is Brad Hogg, the Australian bowler who Kuldeep said he learned a lot from while sharing the dressing room in the IPL. “He is an intelligent bowler to start with, and always wants to pick wickets, and that’s the key to success in short-form cricket,” said Hogg. “As s spinner, he will go for runs on occasions but that should never make him a defensive bowler.”
Kuldeep, his recent reverses notwithstanding, has a promising career in front of him. And given that the 2024 World Cup is in the USA and the Caribbean, where conditions might suit him, he might offer Rahul Dravid a really good option as a wrist-spinner. But to eventually make that happen, he needs to mesh ability with temperament in the next few months. His efforts in Vizag and the intensity with which he bowled point to a strong mindset. The early signs, we all agree, are good. But whether he go on and answer all of the questions in the future is too difficult to answer at this point. The more he bowls in tough situations, the more he will get back to the bowler he was. And, with confidence, he will surely add new skills to his range, skills India could do with in this series and in June in the US at the T20 World Cup.
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Someone like Kuldeep has to be handled well. Given the confidence to deliver for his team. Nurtured and protected on occasions. That’s what Rohit is trying to do for India. Kuldeep now has the support he desperately needs. In the last couple of years, he has faced a lot of sting from former cricketers and commentators. While some have said that he is bowling a little too slow, others have complained about his action and release point. When things don’t go right for you, everything you do appears problematic. It was important during his rehab that he distanced himself from the sport and recalibrated. In fact, it was this period of rediscovery that helped him most.
From being touted by Ravi Shastri, India’s coach, as the team’s premier spinner after his five-wicket haul in Sydney in January 2019, to being discarded and left out of the team, Kuldeep has seen it all in the last few years. And in the process, he has become hardened. He now knows what it is like to fail. To face criticism and ignominy. To stay away from the public glare, where people aren’t interested in you anymore. This is Kuldeep Yadav 2.0. What we now want to see in Kuldeep is the consistency of 2018-19. And that can only happen with more and more matches under his belt. It is now on Dravid and the management to make the best use of him going forward.
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