Dinesh Karthik, the former captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), recently shed light on his strained relationship with Kuldeep Yadav.
Dinesh Karthik opened up about some tough moments he had to navigate with Kuldeep Yadav during their time together in the IPL. He mentioned that these challenges might have strained their relationship a bit.
Kuldeep initially debuted under Gautam Gambhir’s leadership back in 2016. When both were part of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2018, Karthik was appointed as the captain. That season turned out to be Kuldeep’s best, where he performed admirably, taking 17 wickets in 16 matches with an economy rate of 8.14.
However, his form took a downturn in the following seasons. Kuldeep’s appearances for KKR dwindled, and he could only manage to take 5 wickets in 14 matches over the next two seasons.
Reflecting on his role as captain, Karthik admitted that leading a team can sometimes lead to strained interactions. He recalled instances where he had to have difficult discussions with Kuldeep due to the spinner’s struggles with form.
“Leading a franchise is altogether a different job. There are many other cultures, and you will find it challenging to deal with other individuals. You can be very honest with them. As a leader, you will lose out on certain friendships,” Karthik said while having a conversation with Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
“During my time as KKR captain, Kuldeep (Yadav) was not doing as well as he is right now. There were tough conversations with him, and I don’t think he would have appreciated me at that stage. I had to be tough with him,” Karthik added.
Dinesh Karthik avoided pinpointing the precise moment when he had the challenging discussion with Kuldeep. Yet, he conveyed his confidence that undergoing a couple of demanding years has played a significant role in Kuldeep’s development as a bowler.
“It was a hard time for Kuldeep. I think those tough times have made him a better bowler today. My bad luck is that I had to be a part of that bad phase in his life. I hope he understands what I did. I do not want him to appreciate it and be ok with it. You have to make decisions for the team and there was nothing personal,” Karthik concluded.
Kuldeep sat out the entire IPL 2021 season because of a knee injury and was released by his team. However, he found a new home with the Delhi Capitals during the 2022 mega auctions. He made a stunning comeback, bagging 21 wickets that season, and managed to reclaim his spot in the Indian team across all formats within a year.
With 74 wickets in 75 IPL matches at an average of 28.07, Kuldeep has been a consistent performer. In the initial matches of the current season, he grabbed three wickets in two games. Unfortunately, he had to miss the match against Chennai Super Kings in Visakhapatnam, as well as subsequent games against Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, due to a minor injury.
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