Lucknow, April 13: There is no Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps anymore to guide him about what to bowl, when to bowl and how to set-up and then get the better of a batsman.
His former wrist-spin partner Yuzvendra Chahal has been waiting for months to make a comeback into the Indian side. He himself had a lot of worries from injuries to being cold shouldered by selectors. His performance too dipped for a few seasons.
But ever since he has made a comeback last year, he has been exceptional. From domestic matches to franchise cricket, from national duty to ICC tournaments, wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has impressed one and all.
His golden-run with the ball continues even in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Kuldeep's flight, trajectory, guile, release, turn and pace variations have yielded him wickets in bunch. His success has brought his team(s) lot of success.
Against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday evening, he was in good touch again. He was delighted after producing a match-winning three-fer against LSG and credited his performance to the unwavering hard work of support staff and physio especially Patrick and Vivek, who played pivotal roles in his rehabilitation journey.
Earlier, Kuldeep missed the Capitals' last three matches due to an injury, but he was back with a bang. The wrist-spinner picked up Marcus Stoinis (8) on his third ball, a wrong'un sliced tamely towards backward point, and then followed it up by removing Nicholas Pooran, LSG's in-form batter, for zero with one that ripped back to uproot the off-stump.
Not only did Kuldeep put the brakes on the home side's run surge and quietened the crowd, he also completely nobbled the stump.
Rahul was batting beautifully on 39 from 21 when he attempted to cut one going across him and feathered an edge behind off Kuldeep. It wasn't given out on the field, but Rishabh Pant quickly reviewed it and Rahul departed after scoring 39.
"I wasn't fit. Got myself injured in the first game. It was difficult to see the team struggling in the middle overs. Wanted to get myself fit for this game. Credit goes to Patrick and Vivek. They have done a good job to maintain me and get me ready for this game. All were good important wickets. Specially getting 3 wickets in the middle overs controls the run rate and the chasing target. I liked the first wicket. It was a good one and 2nd obviously, I have played a lot against Pooran. Execution was right and that was a good ball," Kuldeep said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Reflecting on his performance, Kuldeep emphasised the importance of clarity in his bowling plan, stressing the significance of length control irrespective of the format. His confidence and clear strategy were evident as he discussed his reliance on teamwork, especially in making decisions regarding the Decision Review System (DRS) in collaboration with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
"I'm pretty much clear with my plan. Just the length matters a lot as a spinner. Whatever the format you play in, the good length is always good. Just focusing on that. I am very very clear and just very confident as well. Whenever I feel like this is 50-50 (on DRS call), I try to go and whenever I feel like 60 or 40, I listen to Rishabh on what his thought is. DRS is something as a bowler want to take because you feel that there is a chance of getting a wicket. When you get 2 DRS, obviously 1 is there for me," Kuldeep added.
Indian cricket fans would love to flourish him more in the IPL and then dominate the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 as well. Kuldeep's return to professional cricket after a lay-off has been a dream run so far. (With IANS support)
