Team India cruised to the finals of the Asia Cup after a massive victory against arch-rival Pakistan by 228 runs and a close victory against Sri Lanka. The performance was far from convincing until that point, with a rusty bowling attack and uncertain batting order troubling India. In the middle of all that Kuldeep Yadav has been a strong force in India’s progress in the tournament so far. Kuldeep Yadav has picked 9 wickets in the tournament so far and has been the leading force in India’s bowling attack.
Kuldeep made a strong comeback this year after being away from the team for a long time. The chinaman bowlers reportedly worked on his run-up and pace, so as to become more lethal in the middle overs. Kuldeep Yadav was aided by the turning conditions in Sri Lanka, as he extracted plenty of turn and bounce off the surface to trouble the opposition.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra had plenty of good words for Kuldeep Yadav, going so far as to call him the “best spinner” in the world right now despite having no “mystery” in his bowling. Kuldeep Yadav has been the lightning spark for the team in the middle overs phase.
We are talking about spinners who have taken 150 ODI wickets. Firstly, 150 wickets is a very good number, it is not a small sample size – Aakash Chopra praises Kuldeep Yadav
The cricketer-turned-commentator was speaking on his YouTube channel and appreciated Kuldeep for his persistence in getting to 150 wickets. Aakash Chopra compared Kuldeep with Ajantha Mendis and said that Kuldeep is quite special.
“He has taken only 85 innings to pick up 150 wickets. He has a strike rate of 30.1. He is special because he is orthodox. If you talk about Ajantha Mendis and Rashid Khan, they had or have mystery. This guy has no mystery. He bowls normal leg-spin and googly and traps you with that itself.” said Aakash Chopra
Kuldeep Yadav has made a strong case for himself after his performances in the Caribbean, on the back of which he made the squad for the World Cup. Kuldeep is the only specialist spinner in the team, as the other two spinners in the team – Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are virtually allrounders. Kuldeep Yadav will have to deliver on the selector’s trust in him if India has to regain their World Champion title at home.