Kuldeep Yadav - a sensational discovery

Kuldeep Yadav

It was a great contribution by the young Kuldeep Yadav in the U19 World Cup quarter final today. Yes, India lost the match, but his performances have been getting better and better. It appears that we have found a dependable and trustworthy bowler at last. During the last three matches played in Dubai, he has been quite consistent. He proved his mettle by taking 4 wickets for 28 runs against Scotland. Again, he repeated the feat of taking 4 wickets against PNG.

And even today, in the crucial quarter finals against England, he took 3 for 46. After every encounter, his role is becoming vital – in today’s match he contributed with his bat as well by scoring 16 runs, not a bad proposition for a lower order batsman!

So the million dollar question is what is so special about him. And how is he different from others? Well, if someone asks as to what is the common factor between Paul Adams, the former South African bowler and Kuldeep Yadav of India, perhaps very few of us honestly will be able to answer. I do hope that when you will finish reading this piece, the secret would have been revealed. But it is really amazing that a young Indian cricketer is getting so much attention.

Kuldeep Yadav has been all over the media since last week.The reason is that he has become the first Indian to take a hat-trick in the under-19 World Cup. He is able to fox the batsmen with his variations, and more importantly he has a killing instinct. First of all, it is pertinent to add that their are very few left arm chinamen in the world of cricket.

India had a chinaman bowler Sunil Joshi who did well initially, but gradually faded away as his mystery was becoming a routine for the batsmen. It is true that Kuldeep Yadav could not get a wicket in the first match against Pakistan, but as he has clarified, he was bowling at a faster speed and therefore the desired impact was missing. He rectified this in the second match and got the reward when he got a hat trick. His bowling figures read as 4 for 28 that match against Scotland. His previous best was 4 for 34.

So far, he has picked up 41 wickets from 20 youth ODIs,at a wonderful average of 16 with the remarkable economy of 3.86. He has got very good control over his line and length. Many of the fans find a glimpse of Brad Hogg in Kuldeep Yadav. Although Kuldeep Yadav modelled himself on Shane Warne, but Kuldeep uses his left arm instead. Many of the experts observe that Kuldeep Yadav proves deadly when he bowls from around the wicket.

Just imagine, he is only 19 years old and keeping in view the recent poor performance by almost all the bowlers of team India, the impeccable bowling skills of Kuldeep Yadav can prove handy. Especially in the series played away from home. The best part about his bowling is that he plans meticulously as per the batting style of a particular batsman and dds variation. His capabilities seem unlimited and by the virtue of his remarkable contribution, India has already entered the quarter finals of the under 19 world cup.

Mr.Ram Singh, the father of kuldeepYadav, who is a bric klin owner at Unnao, is a very happy man. He said, “We have received hat-trick of good news. Firstly, Kuldeep was bought by Kolkata for IPL. Then came the hat-trick against Scotland, followed by his selection into State side for Vijay Hazare Trophy in the evening. Kuldeep is very hardworking and we are very proud of him.”

Also, Shashikant Khandekar, the coach of Kuldeep Yadav, hopes that given his recent performances, Kuldeep will be among the playing 11 for Kolkata Knight Riders.

So, what makes Kuldeep so different is that he is a chinaman bowler – a left arm wrist spinner who are a rare species nowadays – just like Paul Adams was! We hope that he maintains his mystery and goes on to greater glories for India!