The chinaman spinner is widely considered India’s No.1 specialist spinner in modern-day cricket, yet opportunities in the national team have been limited. However, with a 10-wicket match haul in the County Championship, Kuldeep proved exactly what he can do with the ball if given the confidence to shine. Much was expected from Kuldeep Yadav after Ravichandran Ashwin ‘s retirement. breaking into the playing XI has been tough While Kuldeep often gets selected in the national team in all red-ball and white-ball formats. With head coach Gautam Gambhir reportedly preferring bowlers who can bat a little bit, Kuldeep’s opportunities have been limited.
Overlooked time and again by India head coach Gautam Gambhir, Kuldeep Yadav bagged 10 wickets in a single County Championship match for Yorkshire.
Playing Yorkshire against Essex, Kuldeep produced figures of 4/70 and 6/50 in the two innings, hence producing a match haul of 10/120 in England. He also gave a useful contribution with the bat, scoring 36 runs as Yorkshire put a total of 390 runs on the board after Essex were bowled out for 284. Because of the quickness, if they go back foot, they get trapped, and probably they have to play front foot, here,.
“It was a lovely wicket to bowl on because you don’t have to bowl quick in terms of pace because the wicket already has pace in it,” Kuldeep told Yorkshire Cricket TV after the match-winning show. “After pitching, you can see there is a bit of quickness, and you just have to spin the ball and put a lot of revs on it. Ultimately, that was the key. If you compare it to Indian conditions, it’s totally different. Back home, when you bowl, you will get to see a lot of spin, but the wickets are on the slower side, and the batsmen can adjust sometimes. That’s where you have a better chance of getting them caught behind or slip or maybe short-leg. During the early days of his career, Kuldeep remained on the bench or out of the squad as the selection committee and the team management preferred the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja . At present, the likes of Washington Sundar , Axar Patel , and more recently, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain have been getting opportunities in the team. Kuldeep has been in and out of the playing XI, with the management refusing to give him the long rope that could see him fulfil his true potential.
