“Surya ke to hum batting coach hain, ab Kuldeep Yadav ke bhi bowling coach ban gaye" - Yuzvendra Chahal jokes during KulCha chat
Team India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal quipped that apart from being Suryakumar Yadav’s batting coach, he has now also become Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling coach. The 32-year-old cracked the joke during an interaction with Kuldeep on Chahal TV after the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Kolkata on Thursday (January 12).
Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep was named the Player of the Match for his figures of 3-51 as India beat Sri Lanka by four wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to clinch the three-match series 2-0. Incidentally, Kuldeep replaced Chahal in the playing XI after the latter failed to recover from an injury picked up while fielding in the first ODI in Guwahati two days earlier.
Speaking after the Kolkata game, the left-arm spinner thanked Chahal during an interaction on Chahal TV, which has been posted on bcci.tv. Towards the end of the video, Kuldeep is heard telling Chahal:
“I would like to thank you for your suggestions. You played the entire T20I series and the previous one-dayer as well. I was coming into white ball cricket straight from a Test match. You gave inputs. Snce you were playing so much with the boys, you had an idea of how to bowl, so thank you for it.
These small inputs are very important. Of course, we are not playing together so much on the field these days, but the outside inputs I get from you are also very helpful.”
Known for his madcap sense of humour, Chahal was quick to respond:
“Surya ke to hum batting coach hain, ab Kuldeep Yadav ke bhi bowling coach ban gaye. Yeh note kar lijiye. (I am already Surya's batting coach; now I am Kuldeep Yadav's bowling coach too. Note this.)”
Coming back to the game, Kuldeep dismissed Kusal Mendis (34), Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka (two) and Charith Asalanka (15) as the visitors folded up for a modest 215 in 39.4 overs.
In response, India got home in 43.2 overs, with KL Rahul guiding the chase with an unbeaten 64 off 103.
“Chat aate rehte hain hamare pass” - Yuzvendra Chahal informs Kuldeep about a record in unique style
During his match-winning effort with the ball, Kuldeep Yadav completed 200 wickets in international cricket. However, the 28-year-old was unaware of that and candidly admitted the same when Chahal informed him about it.
Beginning the conversation, the leg-spinner said:
“First of all, congratulations on 200 international wickets.”
To that, Kuldeep replied:
“I didn’t know this. Thank you so much.”
Sensing an opportunity to grab the moment, Chahal quipped:
“Chat aate rehte hain hamare pass. (I keep getting chats.)”
This is what a team looks like 🔒 https://t.co/BjCqQeGTaS
Kuldeep, 28, has claimed 34 wickets in eight Tests, 122 in 74 ODIs and 44 in 25 T20Is.