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'Kuldeep Yadav is struggling but India need to back him': Deep Dasgupta's suggestion for Virat Kohli
Deep Dasgupta agreed that Kuldeep Yadav is struggling and is short of confidence but added that he can turn it around if the team management gives him confidence and backs him in these hard times.
To say that Kuldeep Yadav is down on confidence and is struggling won’t be an overstatement. In his last 5 ODIs he has conceded more than 60 runs on four occasions in his spells and taken just 6 wickets. He was preferred over Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar in the first ODI against England but was one of the least impressive India bowlers on display. Despite all this, former India wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta wants Virat Kohli to back Kuldeep and give him at least another opportunity in the 2nd ODI.
Dasgupta agreed that Kuldeep is struggling and is short of confidence but added that he can turn it around if the team management gives him confidence and backs him in these hard times.
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"I would like to see Kuldeep for, at least, another game because, as it is, he has been struggling...he is struggling with confidence. We can see, he hasn't played much international cricket in the last couple of years. We can see that he is trying hard so all I will say is, maybe, they should back him a bit. I know, he went for a few [runs] as well in the last game," Dasgupta told Sports Today.
Kuldeep erred on the shorter side and was guilty of giving a lot of time to the England batsmen to rock back and either cut or pull him behind square, which made Kohli’s job of placing fielders a hard one.
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Dasgupta said Kohli needs to bowl him against the right batsmen.
"But if you have to give somebody the confidence then the only way that can happen is to make him play, make him bowl. Obviously, get him to bowl the overs against the right batsmen. But if we want Kuldeep back in action and deliver close to his 100 percent of what we've seen or better than that, he needs backing and game time," Dasgupta added.
Kuldeep’s good numbers
Kuldeep Yadav who recently completed 100 ODI wickets and is the 3rd fastest IND to reach this landmark.
58.10 % of his wickets have come when he has picked more than 3 wickets in an innings (61/105). No bowler has taken more 3-plus wickets in ODIs than Kuldeep since the left-arm wrist spinner’s debut for India.
