CHENNAI: It has not even been a month since Kolkata Knight Riders mentor David Hussey said Kuldeep Yadav is at the “top of his game” after watching the left-arm wrist spinner bowl at the nets in Abu Dhabi. That seems a long time ago. Kuldeep has spent the last two matches warming the bench, with the uncapped Varun Chakravarthy preferred over the India spinner.
This isn’t the first time that Kuldeep finds himself in this spot. Last season, he was dropped midway through the season as he played nine matches, taking only four wickets with an economy rate of 8.66. There were concerns about his form in the lead-up to the World Cup. It was the start of a forgetful season for Kuldeep, as he was overlooked for T20Is against West Indies (away) and South Africa. Though he made a comeback when the Windies came to India last December, one half of India’s spin twins has never been the same since.
After fixing loading issues, Kuldeep hasn’t been able to sort his problems with the white ball, which should remain a concern for India. In the past, he was guilty of landing deliveries in the batsmen’s arc — especially right-handers — and was told to work on his angles. He tried around-the-wicket angles, but has seldom been the bowler who used to fox batsmen with drift and turn. Add to that, batsmen no longer play him by reading him off the pitch and suddenly, Kuldeep looks out of depth in a format where even the smallest of errors end up being costly.
On Wednesday, Kolkata’s bowling coach Kyle Mills attributed the size of grounds and team combination as reasons for Kuldeep not finding a place in the XI. “Kuldeep is one of the best spinners. But the make-up of the group at the moment and the size of grounds are the reasons we went for this XI and Kuldeep was left out. I guess competition is good, isn’t it?,” Mills said.
Ironically, Kolkata have so far played their five matches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where the outfield is bigger than most venues in India. They are yet to play in Sharjah, where the boundaries are on the shorter side. It’s possible that Kuldeep hasn’t found enough backing from captain Dinesh Karthik, something that most spinners need, especially wrist spinners.
He has not helped his cause either. After bowling his quota against Mumbai Indians, where he went for 39 runs, he bowled only five overs in the next two matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. Against the latter he came on to bowl when the game was all but over as Rajasthan were 90/8 in reply to 174. “We’ve got a big squad, a competitive squad for certain spots within the group and Kuldeep has missed the last two games. But he has presence within the group, he is still giving to the team. Kuldeep is training the house down, he wants to get back into the XI and competition,” Mills said.
Kuldeep Yadav in IPL
2019: Mts: 9. Wkts: 4. Avg: 71.50. Eco: 8.66
2020: Mts: 3. Wkts: 3. Avg: 74.00, Eco: 8.22