There is a plenty of buzz surrounding around Afghanistan’s first ever Test match against India later this month. Cricket fans are eagerly waiting to see how the Test debutants will show up against the numero uno side, which will start their international season after seven weeks of fireworks in the Indian Premier League.
Besides, there is a lot of anticipation concerning the showdown between two of world’s leading spinners – Kuldeep Yadav and Rashid Khan.
Having made his international debut back in March 2017, Kuldeep has come a long way. He has already taken 39 wickets in 20 ODIs besides scalping 9 in 2 Tests and 12 in 8 T20Is. However, during the South Africa tour earlier this year, the left-arm chinaman took his bowling feats to a different level altogether. His 17 wickets in 6 ODIs in South Africa was the most by a spinner in the rainbow nation, eclipsing Muttiah Muralitharan’s tally of 14 wickets in 1998.
Although Kuldeep enjoys all the limelight, he admits that it will be a healthy competition between him and Rashid, who has taken the cricketing fraternity by storm with his stellar showing in IPL 2018.
“Rashid is the best spinner in T20s and has played well for all the teams [in the franchise-based leagues]. It is good to see such comparisons, because he has also done really well in the shorter format. So, the competition will be tough,” Kuldeep said in an exclusive interview with Sportstar.
“Hopefully, I will be able to perform for India and he, too, will give his best for Afghanistan,” he added.
Kuldeep also expects Afghanistan to perform well because of their quality of spinners.
“This is a first Test for Afghanistan and I am confident that it will be a good game. They have good spinners, so it will be an even contest. I am looking forward to some intense competition,” he opined.
During the recently concluded Indian Premier League, Kuldeep claimed 17 wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders despite a jittery start. He has taken 7 wickets in the first 8 games and scalped 10 wickets from as many matches in the latter half of the tournament.
Talking about his IPL 2018 campaign, Kuldeep said: “IPL is the toughest league. If you see, every game was important, so it was necessary to better the performance and better it with every game. In situations where you need to win three of three games, it is a must to keep calm. Pressure also mounts up. This IPL taught me a lot.”
“Initially, it was not quite good, but gradually things fell in place and I could get back the rhythm. In a format like T20, you get very little time to bounce back, so it was a good season. Starting was not quite good but then I picked up the rhythm well,” he explained.
Following the Afghanistan Test, Team India will head off for the England tour where they will play three T20Is and as many ODIs before featuring in a five-match Test series from August 1.
Talking about the England assignment, Kuldeep said he is not too keen on bringing about any changes to his bowling for the long tour.
“There will be nothing new. I will play to my strength. If you wish to play for long, it is important [to stick to your basics]. If the basic is alright, you can perform in all conditions — be it England or Australia. Every tour will be a new experience and I will take things as they come,” he concluded.
