Virat Kohli carrying drinks inspired Kuldeep Yadav to bowl brilliantly in the Dharamshala Test

Kuldeep picked up figures of 4/68 in the first innings 

What’s the story?

Young Indian chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav has revealed how Virat Kohli carrying drinks for his team members motivated him to do well in the Dharamshala Test against the Australians.

“Unless I had not watched Kohli’s movement of the field, I would not have believed the myth that Virat bhai had united the team alone with such tremendous spirit. I could not believe that a captain and batsman with that stature and fame, was coming into the field, carrying drinks for us in the break. He himself set the example of team spirit and after having watched him personally I now want to work harder,” Yadav was quoted by bengali tabloid Ebela.

 “Not only that, after I got into the squad, replacing captain himself, Virat bhai patted on my back and after the end of the Test, he hugged me for my performance. But at the same time, he advised me not to flow out of emotions. It will make me complacent. I am truly indebted to him,” he added.

In case you did not know

Kuldeep had a hugely successful domestic season with the ball. He was excellent in the Duleep Trophy and for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL in the 2016 edition. The Indian team management's thus picked him for the series against Australia but since Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were bagging wickets constantly it was difficult to replace them.

Also, India were reluctant to pick a third spinner in the playing XI as they were keen on having 7 batsmen. But then Virat Kohli injured himself in the third Test at Ranchi.

The heart of the matter

Kohli said he was not feeling 100 per cent fit for the decider at Dharamshala and stayed out of the playing XI. And therefore Kuldeep was handed his debut. He was quite impressive from the start and was able to curtail the run-flow of the Australians in the post lunch session by dismissing David Warner.

He then cleaned up Peter Handscomb with a big turner and castled Glenn Maxwell with a sharp googly. He later gleefully accepted a return catch from Pat Cummins to grab a four-for.

Kuldeep said, Kohli, talking to him and carrying drinks around really egged him on. Kuldeep’s spell also helped India bowl out the Aussies for just 300 when at one time they looked like they would cross 400 quite easily.

What’s next?

With the IPL knocking at the doors, Kuldeep would want to continue his brilliant form as that can help him with his India chances too. He might not be able to cement a place in the side but can be called upon on turning tracks where the country will need an extra tweaker.

Author’s take

It is quite heartening to see that Kohli carried the drinks himself even though he is a star in the team. And now you can see how he motivated a youngster to bring his A game to the forefront.