Indian wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav recently revealed how captain Rohit Sharma played a pivotal role in revitalizing his cricketing journey.
Kuldeep Yadav has experienced some remarkable highs and disappointing lows throughout his cricket career. He first made a big splash onto the scene back in the year 2017, quickly establishing himself as a vital player for Team India leading up to the 2019 World Cup. However, during that tournament, he faced a tough time against England, which marked the beginning of a downward trend in his performance.
Between 2019 and 2022, the wrist spinner, Kuldeep Yadav encountered numerous setbacks, including a loss of form and injuries. One major blow was a knee injury that required surgery, sidelining him from the game for a significant period.
Recently, Kuldeep Yadav shared an important piece of advice he received from Rohit Sharma when they crossed paths at the National Cricket Academy a couple of years ago during his rehabilitation. According to the Indian captain, Rohit pointed out that Kuldeep’s trajectory wasn’t quite flat enough to trouble batsmen effectively. Rohit encouraged him to concentrate on generating more power through his delivery stride to deceive batsmen and stressed the importance of increasing his pace to keep opponents guessing and prevent them from predicting his deliveries’ movements.
“He was there at the NCA when I was there rehabbing and then bowling. He would say, ‘When I stand at slip, I feel the batsmen have enough time to play you off the pitch.’ He said I needed to get more energy through the action and that the batsman shouldn’t get the time to play me. If the batter thinks he can get onto the back foot to play me off the pitch, the ball should rush to hit the stumps or the pad,” Kuldeep said in an interview with the Indian Express.
Kuldeep Yadav has shown remarkable improvement over the past year. His performance in ODI cricket was exceptional, and he played a crucial role in India’s bowling attack during the World Cup.
In the Test series against England, Kuldeep Yadav emerged as a key player, taking 19 wickets with an impressive average of 20.26. Notably, he also made valuable contributions with the bat, particularly in Ranchi, where he scored 28 runs from 131 balls, forming a vital 76-run partnership with Dhruv Jurel.
