IND vs SL: "India is lucky to have this kind of talent" - Mohammad Kaif on Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav's last ODI outing was against England on March 26. He went wicketless in the match and the game prior to it. Just to add to the dry run, the left-arm wrist-spinner didn't play any games in IPL 2021 either.
However, Yadav still has a chance to find a regular spot in the playing XI in the national side. Much of it depends on how he fares against Sri Lanka in the upcoming limited-overs series.
The tweaker found some backing from former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who felt he was the sort of talent that needed to be managed well.
Speaking to the media ahead of the series starting Sunday (July 18), Kaif shed light on Yadav's journey with the team and how he could be a central figure in the side.
"Kuldeep Yadav is a unique talent" - Mohammad Kaif
Having played Ranji together, Kaif was well aware of Yadav's skills. He said:
"Kuldeep Yadav is from UP, he's from Kanpur and we have played Ranji together. You won't always find a bowler like him.
"He has a unique talent- a left-arm chinaman. More than anything else, the captain of the field and the coaches play an important role to assist him and promote him."
The 40-year-old also recollected a delivery by Kuldeep Yadav during the ICC 2019 World Cup to dismiss Pakistan's Babar Azam. Completing the 26th over, he bowled an absolute peach that nipped between the bat and the pad to rattle the timber of the in-form batsman for 48.
"I remember his delivery to Babar Azam to castle him. We were thinking... what a find! India is lucky to have this kind of talent. The responsibility is on the team management to see that talent of this sort is managed."
That said, Kaif also suggested that backing from the senior players meant the onus was on Yadav to keep his body language confident.
"When all the seniors are supporting, you (Kuldeep in this case) it's the responsibility of the player also to keep their body language strong."
The former India cricketer also remarked it is a matter of one good series before Kuldeep Yadav finds his confidence again.
"With the IPL coming and him bowling with Yuzvendra Chahal (in the upcoming series), a good series will do wonders for him."
India squad:
Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh