Kuldeep Yadav picked three wickets in crunch match against Pakistan.
Former India spinner R Ashwin said Kuldeep Yadav 'showed the world' that he had a 'miracle' in his hands with his three-wicket haul against Pakistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday. The spell helped India bowl Pakistan out for 241, which they chased down with six wickets remaining.
This was Kuldeep's strongest spell since having hernia surgery late last year and missing a few months of cricket. Prior to this, he had taken 1/53, 1/38, and 0/43 in three ODIs, putting his spot in the team in jeopardy, especially given Varun Chakaravarthy's emergence as a potent white ball bowler.
“People should understand that a spinner is making a comeback after an injury. Sometimes in our country, we don’t give so much time to the bowlers. If the batsman fails after a comeback, we tell that he has just come after an injury. If you think it happens with Virat and he plays 2-3 games, then what do they say? Everyone will say the king will be back. Kuldeep Yadav is also like that. He has some miracle in his hands. He does the job. He showed the world today,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“As spinners, our life changes in two minutes. One more example from the match was Kuldeep Yadav. One Salman Ali Agha. Kuldeep bowled a beautiful googly like a top spin and Salman got beaten in the flight. It’s not easy to beat a batsman like Salman in the air. I have seen lots of batsmen. And the next ball, he trapped Shaheen Shah Afridi LBW. What an amazing bowling Kuldeep did," Ashwin added.
Ashwin detailed the effects of a sports hernia that Kuldeep Yadav suffered and how it was aggravated by the ‘dead’ pitches in Dubai.
“People have to understand what Kuldeep’s injury was. Sports Hernia is what? It happens below the hip and it’s very important for a spinner for hip drive. He has just come back from that so it will take him some time. But another difficult thing in these conditions in Dubai is that the wicket is dead. No matter how many revolutions you will give, the ball will stop in the wicket and because of the rotations, a spinner’s ball gets fast after falling because of the rotations and goes out of pitch. If it is not doing with the surface, the cut grass makes it even more difficult. So, Kuldeep did a fantastic job on such a wicket," said Ashwin.
Thanks to New Zealand defeating Bangladesh on Monday, they and India have qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy from Group A.