'None of the Coaching Staff Came to His Rescue': EX-IND Selector on How Kuldeep Yadav Bounced Back

Kuldeep Yadav has been on top of his game this year and happens to be a front-runner in grabbing a spot in India’s World Cup squad. With 22 scalps, the Chinaman bowler is currently the highest wicket-taker for India in the ODIs and has been enjoying a great run across formats. However, this improved version of Kuldeep came after a gut-wrenching setback that saw him going out of favour, not only in the Indian side but also in the Indian Premier League.

Kuldeep’s career started going south back in 2019 while his IPL franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), also seemed to have lost faith in him. He played just one match in 2020 before getting benched for the entire season in 2021. Once considered the lynchpin of India’s spin attack, Kuldeep was struggling to even find a spot in the team.

But Kuldeep managed to bounce back in a completely new avatar after finding a new home in Delhi Capitals in 2022. Head coach Ricky Ponting and captain Rishabh Pant showed faith in him and in return, the leg-spinner ended up picking 21 wickets in the season which was also his best so far.

Apart from the DC coaches, there was another person who helped Kuldeep when he had almost lost faith in himself. Former India selector Sunil Joshi recalls how he stepped forward to rescue the Chinaman bowler when nobody wished to help him.

“I was part of the selection committee when Kuldeep Yadav got dropped. Who came to the rescue? None of the coaching staff, I was the one who got his delivery stride shorter, front arm better, arm speed better, got him to rip more revolutions on the ball,” Joshi told The Indian Express.

The change in Kuldeep’s approach wasn’t easy to be overlooked and even Ravi Shastri, who was the head coach then, was amazed by the transition in the bowler’s style of bowling.

“Suddenly, everybody is talking about Kuldeep Yadav. Ravi Shastri asked what have you done with Kuldeep? I said, ‘Ravi bhai I have not done anything special. These are the simple things that a bowling coach should be doing. If you look at Kuldeep 2.0, his front arm is nice toward the target, his bowling arm is towards the target, and he is running towards the target. Shorter stride, there is a free follow-through, and he has got quicker through the air. You look at the way he is bowling now,” added Joshi.