Kuldeep Yadav has established himself as India’s leading spinner in white-ball cricket in the last 18 months with consistent performances.
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. To make matters worse, he also suffered a knee injury and underwent surgery in September 2021.
As it turned, out, the left-arm wrist-spinner was released by KKR ahead of the IPL 2022 mega-auction, where Delhi Capitals got an opportunity to rope him in.
Playing for the Delhi-based franchise turned out to be a game-changer for Kuldeep as he picked up 21 wickets from 14 IPL games last year.
Since then, Kuldeep hasn’t looked back. He recently played a key role in India’s Asia Cup triumph, claiming nine wickets from five games to earn the Player-of-the-Tournament award.
On Sunday (October), Kuldeep Yadav returned with impressive figures of 2/42 in his 10 overs during India’s World Cup 2023 opener against Australia at Chepauk.
After the game, Kuldeep attributed his resurgence in white-ball cricket to an increase in the pace of his deliveries and he credited Team India physio Ashish Kaushik for the same.
"Everyone told me my deliveries required pace but no one told me how to do it," Kuldeep, who dismissed David Warner and Glenn Maxwell in Chennai, said.
"Once I was coming back from injury, it was physio Ashish Kaushik who advised that the load on my right leg should be less."
"Post rehab, I implemented that in my training and then in match situations and I felt the difference. It didn't happen overnight though. It took around six months to get the rhythm back," he recalled his comeback journey from knee surgery.
Although the Chepauk pitch assisted the spinners, Kuldeep highlighted the importance of varying the pace, especially on such tracks.
"On a turning track, the speed at which the ball turns is crucial. Sometimes, tracks may be slow, so varying the pace becomes important," he said.
When quizzed whether the Chennai pitch was a slow turner, Kuldeep said, "I don't think so, but yes, I had to increase the pace of my deliveries. For instance, Glenn Maxwell didn't have time, and if you saw how Smith got bowled (to Jadeja), pace on deliveries becomes important along with turn."
Besides Kuldeep, the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja (3-28) and R Ashwin (1-34) bowled stunning spells against Australia.
When asked if picking three spinners is the way forward in the tournament, Kuldeep replied: "Not sure about the entire tournament, but over the years, we have seen you can play with three spinners in Chennai."
India’s next World Cup match is scheduled against Afghanistan at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Wednesday (October 11).
(With PTI Inputs)
