"KKR made him sit at home, if you treat someone like this even a big match-winner will feel pressure" - Mohammad Kaif on Kuldeep Yadav in IPL 2022
Former Indian batter and cricket expert Mohammad Kaif was impressed with Kuldeep Yadav's performance in his IPL comeback against the Mumbai Indians on Sunday. Playing his first game for the Delhi Capitals, the 27-year-old picked up sensational figures of 3/18 and won the Man of the Match award.
Mohammad Kaif believes Kuldeep Yadav is someone who needs to be looked after as his confidence drops when he isn't used consistently. Speaking on 'SK Straight Talk', here's what the 41-year-old had to say:
"Kuldeep Yadav is a proven match-winner. But he is someone who also needs to be managed well. He is a bit emotional and feels low if he isn't given the bowling or is dropped from the team."
Mohammad Kaif also stated how poorly the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had managed Kuldeep over the past few seasons. He added:
"The way he was treated at KKR when Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan were the captains, he used to be made to sit at home and not even in the squad. When you behave like this, any match-winner feels the pressure."
"Axar Patel's career is progressing similar to that of Ravindra Jadeja" - Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif also hailed all-rounder Axar Patel for his heroics with the bat against the Mumbai Indians. Patel took a depleted Delhi Capitals team to an improbable win by stitching together an unbeaten 75-run stand alongside Lalit Yadav.
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When Axar walked out to bat, his IPL team was down and out. But he played an incredible knock of 38 off just 17 balls and took apart the opposition bowling attack. Here's what Kaif had to say about the 28-year-old's improvement with the bat:
"Axar Patel's career is progressing similar to that of Ravindra Jadeja. When Jadeja was new, he used to bowl well, but it was only later that his batting improved. Axar has a great bat-swing and has the ability to hit good bowlers like Bumrah. Finishing a game with the bat is not what he is known for but he will only get better with confidence."
Rohit Sharma will be kicking himself as it was a golden opportunity for his team to break their first-game jinx. The Capitals, on the other hand, will be ecstatic with the win and will know that they will only get stronger with the arrival of star players like David Warner.
View the IPL 2022 orange cap here.