WI vs IND: Kuldeep Yadav owes a lot to Rishabh Pant for his comeback, says Abhinav Mukund
Former India batter Abhinav Mukund said Rishabh Pant’s contribution to Kuldeep Yadav’s resurgence in international cricket is often overlooked, highlighting the former Delhi Capitals captain’s backing of the left-arm wrist-spinner during one of his lean patches.
Kuldeep Yadav was in sensational form in the tour of the West Indies, picking up 7 wickets in 3 ODIs and 6 wickets in 4 T20Is he featured in. Kuldeep’s control and consistency continued as he proved to be captain Hardik Pandya’s reliable wicket-taking option. Kuldeep managed to take the big wickets, including that of Nicholas Pooran, and kept the opposition batters queit by mixing it up wonderfully well.
Speaking to JioCinema after West Indies won the final T20I to secure the series 3-2, Abhinav Mukund highlighted the improvement in Kuldeep’s ability to mix it up with the flatter ones. The former opener highlighted the impact the backing of Pant has had in Kuldeep’s comeback journey.
Kuldeep’s form took a dip after the 2019 World Cup. The left-arm spinner lost his confidence, especially during his IPL stints with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2019 and 2020 wherein he managed a total of 14 games. An injury in 2021 saw him getting released from the KKR squad.
THE PANT IMPACT
“He has worked on his bowling a lot. He has changed his run up, he was more angular when he started out. He has become a lot straighter. That means he is getting into the stride much faster than he was which is enabling him to bowl that flatter trajectory.
“And the confidence as well, one man that we seldom mention in the last 6 months. It’s Rishabh Pant, he was the guy who backed him to the T in the IPL in terms of giving him the comeback. He (Kuldeep) was not sought after in terms of the IPL at that point.
“Rishabh Pant actually backed him and gave him that run to give him confidence. Kuldeep owes a lot to Rishabh in terms of getting him back on track,” Mukund said.
AHEAD IN RACE
Kuldeep began to get games consistently after he moved to Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022. The wrist-spinner had often highlighted the backing he received from Pant and their head coach Ricky Ponting.
Meanwhile, Mukund said Kuldeep is certainly ahead of the race in terms of the spinners’ slots in the ODI World Cup squad, saying the Delhi Capitals bowler will be one of the first names on the team sheet.
“He is looking like a dream bowler right now, he is looking very, very good. I won’t be surprised if India pick Kuldeep and Jadeja ahead of Chahal in the World Cup. I think Kuldeep has leapfrogged Chahal at this point,” Mukund said.
