When a young Kuldeep Yadav contemplated suicide
What's the story?
Kuldeep Yadav has had a sensational start to international cricket but admitted but that omission from the Uttar Pradesh's under-15 side as a 13-year-old led to him contemplating suicide in frustration. The youngster also added that it was only because of his father that he took up cricket seriously and his coach made him a spinner.
Speaking at the Hindustan Shikhar Samagam in Lucknow, Kuldeep said: “I had worked hard for my selection, but when I was not picked, I mentioned suicide in frustration. It happens to everyone in the heat of the moment."
He also added that he was a "meritorious student in school" and it was only upon the insistence of his father that he took up cricket. While he wanted to be a seam bowler, his coach forced him to be a spinner and spoke about the happy accident that made him become a chinaman bowler.
“I always wanted to become a seam bowler, but my coach forced me to become a spinner. When I bowled a few balls (Chinaman), I was asked to make it a habit. Otherwise, I didn’t know I was bowling something different,” he added.
In case you didn't know...
Kuldeep Yadav made his international debut in the final Test against Australia at Dharamsala earlier this year. Since then he has made his debut for India across all three formats and has been a consistent part of India's ODI side.
The heart of the matter
The 22-year-old, who had played a consistent part for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, also took part in the U-19 World Cup for India before making his Test debut against Australia. Since then, he has made ODI and T20I debut against West Indies and became only the third Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in ODIs.
What's next?
The chinaman bowler is part of India's Test squad to take on Sri Lanka. With Hardik Pandya rested for the series, there is a chance that he will get to add to his two Test caps and his 9 wickets.
Author's take
Rejection is always hard to take, especially at a young age when you have the world at your feet and think that you are destined for great things. The resilience that Kuldeep has shown to overcome being omitted before playing for his state side, representing India in the U-19 World Cup and in the senior level shows that talent coupled with a strong will is what it takes to succeed.