[Watch] Kuldeep Yadav works hard on his fitness for much-anticipated return to competitive cricket
Out of favor left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav is toiling hard to attain match fitness in a bid to make a return to competitive cricket following an injury-forced break.
He last played for India when a second-string side led by Shikhar Dhawan toured Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series. Following that, Kuldeep missed the second leg of the IPL 2021 and has been on the sidelines ever since due to a knee injury.
The 27-year-old is currently training at the NCA in Bengaluru as part of his rehabilitation program. Kuldeep took to his official Instagram handle and shared a post to give fans a glimpse of the work he is putting in. He captioned it:
बीच रास्ते से लौटने का कोई फायदा नहीं क्योंकि लौटने पर आपको उतनी ही दूरी तय करनी पड़ेगी जितनी दूरी तय करने पर आप लक्ष्य तक पहुँच सकते है | (Translation - There is no use of returning midway because on returning you will have to cover the same distance as you can reach the goal after covering the distance)
You can view the post below:
"I felt crushed. Absolutely crushed" - R Ashwin's reaction when Ravi Shastri declared Kuldeep Yadav as India's No 1 overseas spinner in 2019
Ravichandran Ashwin recently opened up about his disappointment when former head coach Ravi Shastri hailed Kuldeep as India's No 1 overseas spinner in 2019. It came after Kuldeep took a five-wicket haul in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney.
In a conversation with The Cricket Monthly, Ashwin said:
“I hold Ravi bhai in high esteem. We all do. And I understand we all can say things and then retract them. In that moment, though, I felt crushed. Absolutely crushed. We all talk about how important it is to enjoy your team-mates' success. And I was happy for Kuldeep. I have not been able to get a five-for but he has a five-for in Australia. I know how big it is. Even when I have bowled well [at other times], I haven't ended up with a five-for.”
The off-spinner continued:
"If I have to come and partake in his (Kuldeep’s) happiness, and the success of the team, I must feel like I belong there. If I feel like I am being thrown under the bus, how am I supposed to get up and come for a party to enjoy the team's or team-mate's success? I went back to my room and then I spoke to my wife. And my children were there. So we were able to, you know, shrug it off, and I still made it to the party, because, end of the day, we had won a massive series.”
Interestingly, Kuldeep did not play a single Test match outside India after the Sydney Test in 2019. He last played a Test in February this year against England in Chennai.