CHENNAI: When Kuldeep Yadav finished with the figures of 1/53 during the first ODI between India and England in Nagpur earlier this month, it seemed like the spinner was still rusty.
The left-arm wrist spinner had been out of action for months due to chronic left groin issue and was ruled out on the entire India tour of Australia. Understandably, he was still getting into rhythm. In the 56 deliveries he bowled during the match, the lone wicket came off the last delivery, Saqib Mahmood tried to jump out of the crease and missed the googly. Rarely during the innings did he look like he was troubling the England batters while defending. That was then.
Cut to Sunday, Kuldeep was in Dubai, bowling against Pakistan during the Champions Trophy tie. He had sent down five overs between nine and 40 and given away 23 runs. Unlike the England series at home, the ball was coming out of his hand nicer, he was able to impart drift and loop better and keep Pakistan batters in check.
It was when he bowled to Salman Ali Agha in the 43rd over, things started to happen. He delivered a stock delivery on fullish length as Salman looked to play it on the leg side. But the ball took the leading edge and Ravindra Jadeja caught it at cover. On the very next ball, the spinner trapped Shaheen Shah Afridi on the backfoot. Two wickets in as many deliveries. Kuldeep let out a roar. Not just because of the wicket but also how it happened.
As India beat Pakistan by five wickets in Dubai, Kuldeep was a happy man. After going wicketless against Bangladesh, it was the Pakistan game he felt at his best. "Injuries take six months to recover. I played two matches against England. I had a good rhythm. I had a good rhythm even against Bangladesh. But obviously, you always look for wickets. But today, when I bowled my first over, I felt that I was in a better rhythm. I am in a comfortable position. Even now, I feel that I can bowl better. I have played 3-4 matches. I will get better as I play more," he explained in the mixed zone after the game. "To be very honest, in terms of accuracy, I feel that if I play more games, I will be much better. Obviously, when you play a lot of games, you tend to mix your pace," he added.
Kuldeep has perhaps been one of the best spinners during the middle-overs since the beginning of 2023. Among spinners from January 2023, he is third in the list only behind Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga. In the 37 games he has played during this phase, Kuldeep has taken 58 wickets at 22.06 while operating at 4.5 economy. And captain Rohit Sharma used the spinner in the last ten overs with such significance as he did during the tie against Pakistan. It is a challenge he relishes as well. "...the captain felt that it's very difficult to hit spinners when you have variations. Luckily, it was good for me. The wicket was slow. I was trying to mix with the pace and wrong ones or topspin. If you get one or two wickets in the middle, the batters tend to block you. That's what they did in the last 10 overs," said Kuldeep.
For a team that has Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj dominating wicket-tally upfront, Kuldeep has been the first-choice wicket-taking spinner for India since his comeback three years ago. In the absence of Bumrah and Siraj, on slowish Dubai surfaces, Kuldeep once again showed why he is invaluable to his team and will continue to play a crucial role in India's pursuit to win another global title.
