"Can see glimpses of old Kuldeep coming back" - Rohit Sharma impressed with spinner's performance in 3rd ODI vs West Indies

Kuldeep Yadav (left) celebrates a wicket. Pic: ICC

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma is highly impressed with the manner in which left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav bowled in his comeback match against West Indies in the third ODI on Friday.

The 27-year-old was recalled to the one-day side after having recovered from a knee injury. He claimed 2 for 51 in eight overs, dismissing Nicholas Pooran and Fabian Allen.

Praising Kuldeep at a virtual press conference following the third ODI, Rohit said:

“(Yuzvendra) Chahal played the first two games. We wanted to rest him and get Kuldeep in to see what he had to offer. And I thought he bowled brilliantly. I can see glimpses of old Kuldeep coming back. He was flighting the ball, bowling those googlies, getting the batters to nick in the slip. That is the kind of stuff he has done in the past and it was good to see him bowl that way.”

The skipper defended the spinner, who was hit for four sixes in the innings. Rohit added:

“Obviously, he is playing an ODI after a long time. He got hit for a few runs but that didn’t really matter. I told him not to worry about all that stuff. (I told him) you just need to get your rhythm back and we are here to support you.”

West Indies 7⃣ down! 👍 👍

@imkuldeep18 picks his 2⃣nd wicket. 👏 👏

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The 34-year-old termed the team’s bowling the biggest positive from the series win. He elaborated:

“The fast bowlers and the spinners, they did a great job in this particular series. Along with Prasidh (Krishna), (Mohammed) Siraj was outstanding the way he bowled, with a lot of pace again. Shardul (Thakur) played a couple of games, bowled well in the middle. Deepak (Chahar), I was very impressed with his skills as well, the way he swings the ball.”

While Krishna and Siraj claimed three wickets each in the third ODI against West Indies, Chahar finished with two scalps.

“We were looking for someone like him” - Rohit Sharma on Prasidh Krishna’s impact

25-year-old Prasidh was named Player of the Series for claiming nine wickets in three matches at an average of 7.55 and a stunning economy rate of 2.50.

Asked whether the youngster has made a case for his inclusion in the red-ball squad, Rohit replied:

“Honestly, I can’t tell you about Test cricket. But certainly he has impressed everyone with his bowling in this particular series. We were looking for someone like him to come out, bowl those overs in the middle and get us those breakthroughs. He has a lot of pace and we could see that he was getting something out of the pitch as well. From a team’s perspective, it’s a good sign that he was able to come out and do that. He is definitely a prospect for the future, no doubt about that.”

It's raining wickets in Ahmedabad! 👍 👍

@prasidh43 strikes again as #TeamIndia pick the 5⃣th West Indies wicket. 👌 👌

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Having made his ODI debut against England in March 2021, Prasidh has claimed 18 wickets in seven matches at an average of 16.72.