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Cricket PlayersBrilliant spell against WI shows why India need Kuldeep
The Indian team management isn’t always convinced about the left-arm wrist spinner’s quality but he’s a match-winner
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Mumbai: Ask the spin gurus, and they unanimously agree: India need Kuldeep Yadav. On Sunday, at Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield International Stadium, the chinaman bowler once again showed why he is rated so highly.
However, it has been tough being Kuldeep Yadav. An excellent practitioner of left-arm wrist spin—one of cricket’s most in-demand skills—he still finds it difficult to get consistent playing time at the international level.
On Sunday, he emerged from one of his most difficult seasons, where he struggled to get playing time in all formats, to produce a performance to remember in one-day cricket.
On a pitch where most of the Indian bowlers looked bereft of ideas against the West Indies batters, the wrist spinner came out and mesmerized the opposition line-up. Kuldeep’s memorable spell of 10-1-40-4 proved to be the turning point after West Indies got off to a brilliant start of 135/0.
The value of his performance was evident when, despite Virat Kohli’s epic unbeaten 139 off just 88 balls, the jury conferred the player of the match award on Kuldeep after India’s eight-wicket win.
The performance couldn’t have come at a better time for the bowler and the team looking to finalise the bowling combination for the 2027 ODI World Cup in the South African region. He was in that kind of a zone where he could do as he pleased. “Personally, I liked my rhythm. I was calm in my rhythm. I bowled whatever I felt like bowling, variations were superb,” said Kuldeep while receiving the player of the match award.
Captain Shubman Gill acknowledged the impact his wrist spinner had in the opening game of the series. “Someone like Kuldeep, especially in the middle overs if he is bowling well, he is a wicket-taker. We were on the backfoot with their opening partnership, he got us back in the game. At one point it looked like keeping them to 300 was great,” said Gill.
Ever since he came onto the scene in the 2014 Under-19 World Cup, Kuldeep’s art made everyone sit up and take notice. When he made it onto the international circuit in 2017 with a match-turning four-wicket haul in the first innings of the Test series decider against Australia in Dharamsala, the experts were excited, including the great wrist-spinner, the late Shane Warne.
The format doesn’t matter; when in his elements he can be equally devastating. However, a bowler has to play consistently to improve and maintain his rhythm. It has been tough being Kuldeep. He gets dropped for long stretches. Since making his debut in all formats in 2017, the wrist spinner has played just 20 Tests, despite proving his wicket-taking ability with 80 wickets, 122 ODIs and 54 T20Is.
Kuldeep said it was an important performance to regain his confidence. “It always feels nice when you enjoy bowling, when you achieve your best and are enjoying your bowling, that’s when your peak performance comes. Sometimes to get your confidence back, you have to have a bowling spell like this.”
That he has not had a consistent run is not entirely up to the team management. There are periods when the zip, drift and dip have gone missing in his bowling. In last month’s Test series in Sri Lanka, Kuldeep looked listless in the first Test, picking just one wicket in two innings, while the other spinners made merry on a helpful Galle surface. His stint in County cricket for Yorkshire this summer has done him good, where he took a 10-wicket match haul against Essex earlier this month. On Sunday, he was absolutely world class. His rhythm was beautiful, he bowled at the right speeds (averaging around 83kph).
“I believe the rhythm, it’s all about your bowling flow. When you are in flow, everything looks so good. I’m going to stick with the same rhythm, that’s the most important thing. Any format I play: you have to feel very comfortable in your rhythm,” said Kuldeep. “I still believe there’s a lot to improve as a spinner.”
On what makes Kuldeep so good, former India spinner, Maninder Singh, had told HT last month: “He has made so many positive changes, earlier his ball in the air was slow, now his follow through is good, is using his shoulder more, he has made a lot of positive changes.”
An unorthodox bowler, Kuldeep has always been a surprise factor for any batsman. He’s always a match winner who can run through a side anytime.
All said and done, it is very important to give confidence to the left-arm wrist-spinner bowler, because that breed of bowler is rare in world cricket and batters rarely face them. By backing him, India can have a match-winner for the 2027 World Cup.
