Kuldeep Yadav has taken the IPL 2022 tournament by storm while playing for his new franchise Delhi Capitals (DC), as he has 17 wickets in 9 matches with two four-wicket hauls.
This is in contrast to his performance for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the last two seasons where he had played just 14 matches in all, picking 5 wickets and his confidence and mental health took a hit.
However, Kuldeep was selected by Delhi Capitals (DC) for 2 crores in the IPL 2022 mega auction earlier this year and the move has brought new life to Kuldeep’s career.
The 27-year-old has endured a rough time in the last 2-3 years having been dropped from India's limited-overs squad and forced to miss the second half of the IPL 2021 due to a knee injury.
Kuldeep's childhood coach Kapil Dev Pandey credited current Indian captain Rohit Sharma for the DC bowler’s resurgence.
SEE ALSO: WATCH - "He’s like my big brother", Kuldeep Yadav dismisses talks of competition with Chahal
In an interview with the Times of India, Pandey said that amid a difficult era, Sharma showed tremendous faith in his disciple's talents
“Whenever captains trusted him, Kuldeep delivered. He has a good record in Tests. He has two hat-tricks in ODIs. He has a good T20I record. But still, he didn’t get enough opportunities. This is really shocking. Kuldeep’s career is protected because of Rohit Sharma. Rohit is the man behind Kuldeep’s resurgence.
He is a fantastic captain and he knows how to find talent in a big group of players. Ahead of the IPL, Rohit called Kuldeep and gave him the chance (against the West Indies). Kuldeep delivered too by taking two wickets,"
The coach further added that the Indian captain, Rishabh Pant, and Ricky Ponting are the reason that Yadav was able to make a comeback.
“Rohit kept a close eye on Kuldeep, his Yo-Yo Test, and rehab reports. Rohit was impressed with Kuldeep’s rehab programme. Rohit should be credited for Kuldeep’s comeback. He wouldn’t have been here today without the support of Rohit, Pant, and Ponting.
Every captain has their own style of captaining and picking players. Kuldeep played a lot of cricket under Virat. Virat wants experience in the side. He went with Ashwin and Jadeja. He preferred Axar ahead of Kuldeep because of Axar’s batting capabilities. A captain has to trust his players," the coach added.
The 27-year-old is currently the second-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing IPL with Yuzvendra Chahal ahead of him. DC will next take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday (May 05).
(Times of India Inputs)
