TimesofIndia.com in Chennai: There is no doubt that when there is a song, there is no better view than Kuldeep Yadav the bowling of those Chinese. The hops, skips, jumps to the bowling alley, the flight and spins he gives the ball are a sight to behold. But over the years, due to various reasons, he was never able to cement his place in the Indian team.Kuldeep’s case has always been strange. In the current ODI setup, he is the best bowler and is just six runs away from reaching 200 ODI wickets. The 31-year-old has an exceptional record in the format. He has 194 wickets in 121 matches and takes a wicket every 31 balls. His economy rate is slightly higher but he has always been India’s main wicket-taking option in the middle overs.In the ongoing streak, Kuldeep has played just one game in Lucknow and while he hasn’t bowled badly, he hasn’t been anywhere near the pace he has often batted in the past. Manav Suthar and Washington Sundar outscored him in the one-off Test against Afghanistan, and in the rain-curtailed ODI in Dharamsala, Harsh Dubey was picked ahead of him.Ahead of the Chennai ODI, while India are expected to rotate their line-up of batsmen and pacers, the onus will be on Kuldeep to find his way. Team India’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutale was in Kuldeep’s ear after almost every ball he bowled to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma in the nets.Bahutale watched Kuldeep closely, be it his run, his delivery or the spin he gave the ball. Kuldeep is growing in confidence and this team management surely knows that if India are to do well in the middle overs at the 2027 ODI World Cup, a lot depends on the Chinese. No one in this bowling attack is as capable as Kuldeep of taking wickets against the run of play. Jasprit Bumrah can do that to some extent, but even he can’t be counted on to provide those breakthroughs in the middle overs as consistently as Kuldeep.
In the pre-match press conference, India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate made it clear that the management will continue to back Kuldeep as he believes he remains India’s trump card.“Wickets are always there, and I thought he bowled really well the other night. He hasn’t bowled consistently for a while, not even in Test cricket, so there are no real worries about him,” Doeschate said of Kuldeep’s dip in form.“We always like to play a wrist spinner or a mystery spinner. With the way the game is evolving, the onus is on the spinners to keep reinventing themselves. Kuldeep, along with our other spinners in the Test team, has put a lot of work into the tactical side of the game and planning the batsmen. “I think Kuldeep is doing very well,” he added.The Chennai ODI may not define Kuldeep Yadav’s future, but it could be the first step towards rediscovering the rhythm that has made him India’s biggest wicket-taking weapon in the middle overs. With the road to the 2027 ODI World Cup getting busier from here, India need their top-notch wrist-shooting again. Sooner than later.
