It was nearly two years ago when Indian skipper Virat Kohli hailed the emergence of left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and declared that he will be India’s number spinner in overseas Tests. However, since then, things have vastly changed for Yadav, who has fallen out of the radar of the team management.
Kuldeep, who had formed a deadly duo with fellow leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, has failed to perform consistently across formats of the game, leading to his annexure from the team. The 26-year-old has also struggled to keep his place in the playing XI in Kolkata Knight Riders.
While experts and cricket pundits feel that the chinaman is short of confidence, Yadav has opened up about his dip in the form. In an interview with The Indian Express, Yadav has said that he is “missing the guidance” of former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Lauding the former Indian wicket-keeper, Yadav revealed that Dhoni’s “great experience” helped him and Chahal form a deadly spin duo. He also said that not playing with Chahal consistently has affected their performance.
“When Mahi bhai was there, I and Chahal were playing. Ever since Mahi bhai left, Chahal and I haven’t played together. I played only a handful of games after Mahi bhai left. I must have played ten-odd games. I had even taken a hat-trick,” Yadav told The Indian Express.
“If you look at the performance as a whole, it will look pretty decent but if one breaks it up then my performance sometimes can look not up to the mark. One has to also look at the opposition we are playing against,” he added.
He said that he has spoken with the team management, including head coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Virat Kohli — who have asked him “not to overthink much”. However, he said that bowling coach Bharat Arun has told him that the team management has currently “different demands”.
Here it is noteworthy to mention that the team management over the past year has focused on spinners like Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Krunal Pandya who could bat and ball a bit.
While several experts and pundits have lauded the team management, many feel that dropping the duo of Kuldeep and Chahal, who are popularly known as ‘Kul-Cha’, is the main reason why the team hasn’t been able to pick wickets in the middle overs in limited-overs cricket.
Talking about Kuldeep, he has lost his place in the 20-member squad that will tour England for the World Test Championship final in June. He, however, is expected to make a comeback in the squad that will tour Sri Lanka for three one-day internationals (ODIs) as many T20Is in July.
