Gargi Raut in Dubai
Kuldeep Yadav for long has been warming the bench despite delivering consistent performances. Always losing out on a place in the team due to combinations and conditions. But this time around, at the Asia Cup, Kuldeep looks determined to let his performances speak louder than any selection debate. In the two matches that India played in the Asia Cup so far, the left-arm wrist-spinner has picked up seven wickets and he seems to be cementing his place in the T20 set-up with every passing day.
On Sunday against Pakistan, Kuldeep was the highest wicket-taker. Pakistan batters looked clueless as he tore through the middle-order, picking up three wickets in the game while only giving away 18 runs. In the 13th over, after dropping a catch off Hassan Nawaz, he struck in the very next delivery and Axar Patel held on to the catch. Again, in the subsequent delivery, a googly with Mohammad Nawaz’s name found his pads and the batter had to return to the pavilion after an unsuccessful review. And for the final nail in the coffin, Kuldeep scalped the wicket of opener Sahibzada Farhan in his final over.
Only a few months ago, Kuldeep was the face of India’s “problem of plenty”. Time and again left out of the playing XI through long stretches of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy despite being a proven match-winner. Even when the conditions seemed best suited for the spinner, he found himself out of the team. Team balance, batting depth, and horses-for-courses strategies kept him on the sidelines. Now, given an opportunity, he has responded with the kind of spell that selectors cannot ignore.
There was never a doubt about Kuldeep’s ability to pick wickets or deliver breakthroughs. For India, it is both a headache and a luxury to have someone like Kuldeep in their armoury, even if he has to sit out sometimes. The T20I squad at the time is overflowing with spin options — Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, and a part-timer in Abhishek Sharma.
Kuldeep, with his performances in the Asia Cup has found vindication. He has reminded everyone that only a few can match the ability of him to break partnerships and run through the opponents in the blink of an eye. As the tournament progresses, Kuldeep’s form is not just strengthening India’s title defence but he will also reignite the conversation of his inclusion in the Indian team across formats.