Kuldeep performed exceptionally well in the white-ball leg of the West Indies tour.
Kuldeep picked up seven wickets from three ODIs to help India clinch the series 2-1. While the Men in Blue lost the five-match T20I series 3-2, the wrist-spinner produced his magic with the ball, claiming six scalps at an impressive economy rate of 5.75 from the four games that he played.
After India’s tour of West Indies concluded on Sunday (August 13), former cricketer Abhinav Mukund highlighted Rishabh Pant's contribution to Kuldeep Yadav's resurgence in international cricket.
Kuldeep's form took a dip post the 2019 World Cup. He lost his confidence, especially during his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2020 and 2021 seasons.
The left-arm spinner was released by KKR ahead of the IPL 2022 mega-auction, where Delhi Capitals got an opportunity to rope him in. As it turned out, Kuldeep flourished while playing under Pant’s captaincy at DC last year, taking 21 wickets from 14 games.
"He has worked on his bowling a lot. He has changed his run up, he was more angular when he started out. He has become a lot straighter. That means he is getting into the stride much faster than he was which is enabling him to bowl that flatter trajectory,” Mukund said while speaking to JioCinema.
"And the confidence as well, one man that we seldom mention in the last 6 months. It’s Rishabh Pant, he was the guy who backed him to the T in the IPL in terms of giving him the comeback. He (Kuldeep) was not sought after in terms of the IPL at that point.
"Rishabh Pant actually backed him and gave him that run to give him confidence. Kuldeep owes a lot to Rishabh in terms of getting him back on track," he added.
According to Mukund, Kuldeep should be the first-choice spinner in India’s ODI World Cup squad later this year on home soil.
"He is looking like a dream bowler right now, he is looking very, very good. I won't be surprised if India pick Kuldeep and Jadeja ahead of Chahal in the World Cup. I think Kuldeep has leapfrogged Chahal at this point," Mukund remarked.