India's spin boomerang casts Kuldeep Yadav into the spotlight again
In early 2019, it seemed that Kuldeep Yadav had the world at his feet. The left-arm spinner, who hadn’t played many Tests prior to the tour Down Under, cast himself into the ascendancy with a splendid five-wicket haul at Sydney – a performance that tightened India’s grip on the Border-Gavaskar series.
Post that game, Ravi Shastri (the head coach then) proclaimed that the youngster would be India’s first-choice overseas spinner in red-ball cricket moving forward. Many others vouched for that too, meaning that Kuldeep, who had only made his international debut in 2017 had massive shoes to fill.
In limited-overs cricket, he formed a deadly duo alongside Yuzvendra Chahal. The spin twins enjoyed a breakthrough series in South Africa in 2018 and were touted as the best spin-bowling partnership in the world. There weren’t many who would have argued with that too.
Reunited! Stronger Together 💪🇮🇳 https://t.co/J0eeeSbACL
Since then, though, something seems to have broken down. There has been a continued lack of trust from India's top brass. Kuldeep hasn’t covered himself in glory either and that cumulation of factors has regularly led to his omission in the past couple of years.
The tweaker also found himself out of favour at his IPL franchise (the Kolkata Knight Riders). KKR often played Harbhajan Singh when they required an extra spinner but Kuldeep didn’t even qualify as an afterthought, indicating how his stock had drastically fallen.
As far as the numbers are concerned, he bagged 87 wickets between his debut and 30th April, 2019. During that phase, he was frequently picking wickets in the middle overs and was providing India with the thrust they were craving. He also boasted an average of 21.74 and took a wicket every 26.4 balls – a remarkable statistic considering the passage of play he usually operated in.
Since 1st May 2019, though, he has only mustered 20 wickets at an alarming average of 57.05. He has also taken a wicket every 59.1 balls, hinting that he hasn’t been able to pick up wickets in a heap. The economy rate has also zinged up to 5.79.
On the technical front, it seems that he is trying to bowl a little quicker. In that endeavour, he has seemingly lost the innate dip, drift and flight that bamboozled batters across the globe. He has also endured an unfortunate shoulder injury – an injury many reckon he hasn’t yet recovered from.
There’s the matter of an MS Dhoni-shaped void behind the stumps too, but from a personal standpoint, there are enough reasons to pinpoint why Kuldeep has fallen off a cliff.
Unsurprisingly, game-time has evaporated for the spinner. His last international appearance, as things stand, remains a T20I against Sri Lanka at Colombo. Prior to that, he featured in the ODI series and blew hot and cold.
There were the loose deliveries that have characterized his career in the past couple of years. However, there were also a few moments of magic – moments that told the rest of the world that Kuldeep, especially when he gets things right, can still be a menace.
Kuldeep Yadav has been included in India's ODI squad against West Indies
And that is exactly why his inclusion in the Indian squad for the ODI series against the West Indies has made every cricket fan in the country sit up and take notice. Not because he will be donning the blue after more than six months, but also because everyone knows the havoc he is capable of wreaking.
Post the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, India’s fortunes have dwindled in ODI cricket. The Men In Blue have looked a pale shadow of the outfit that breezed to the semi-final in England, with their wicket-taking in the middle overs causing significant concern.
Their downturn has coincided with Kuldeep’s rough patch. At the 2019 World Cup, Kuldeep was, for large stretches, India’s primary wicket-taking option. But as soon as India decided to drop the axe on one of their spinners, Kuldeep suffered, despite not doing much wrong.
Recently in South Africa, India deployed the likes of Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin and Chahal. Each failed to make their mark. Ashwin has been dropped from the white-ball setup altogether. There has been no mention on whether Jayant has been dropped/rested, while Chahal seems to have lost his edge.
Washington Sundar has returned to the fold but he will, in all likelihood, be used as a Power Play weapon or someone who can stifle runs in the middle overs, rather than be someone who breaks the game open for India.
So, all signs point towards India requiring a bowler of Kuldeep’s ilk – a bowler who can create something out of nothing, and of course, a bowler who can run rampant on the opposition, irrespective of whether they are trying to attack or defend.
The problem is that India haven’t trusted him enough in the recent past. He is, owing to his unique brand of bowling, prone to the odd indifferent game(s). But when he clicks into gear, he is capable of rattling any batting cage on the planet.
This, in a nutshell, is the quandary facing Rohit Sharma. He knows the qualities the former KKR tweaker brings to the fore but is also aware of the risks. The difference this time, though, is that India have, to an extent, exhausted all of their other options.
#TeamIndia begin preps in Ahmedabad ahead of the ODI series against West Indies.
#INDvWI https://t.co/aYTd1QuexB
So much so that Kuldeep, who has not bowled a ball in anger since July 2021, has suddenly become a better bowler by sitting out. They say that the importance of someone isn’t realized until they are no longer a part of your daily routing. And, it seems that the left-arm spinner has been cast into the spotlight (again) via India’s spinning boomerang in very similar fashion.
There is still plenty that Kuldeep needs to do to solidify his place in the team, make no mistake about it. He will still have to pick a truckload of wickets to ensure that he is the first name on the team-sheet, even when Ravindra Jadeja returns.
The fascinating bit is that he, who was seemingly not even in the scheme of things when the T20 World Cup caravan rolled into town, is now being looked upon as the answer to India’s bowling woes.
In 2019, Kuldeep had the world at his feet. In 2021, he was an afterthought. In 2022, he is the saviour India felt they had lost but somehow have managed to recover from the abyss.
Time is fickle and it indeed changes a lot of things, particularly in Kuldeep’s case. And, even if you tried, you couldn’t have written this script!