Ace Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav made a terrific debut for the Delhi Capitals (DC)at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The 27-year-old was the pick of the bowlers in his team’s opening encounter against Mumbai Indians (MI). He was the pick of the bowlers, registering figures of 3 for 18 in four overs; including the prized wickets of Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard.
Kuldeep’s success right in the first game is a major positive for DC, who are in search of their maiden IPL title. Team’s former assistant coach Mohammad Kaif has observed numerous fresh talents from close quarters and speaking of the Chinaman bowler, he opined that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) didn’t utilise him well in the past seasons.
In a conversation with SportsKeeda, Kaif said the way KKR handled Kuldeep, the latter’s KKR’s bowling and its form was bound to go south.
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“Kuldeep Yadav is a proven match-winner. But he is someone who also needs to be managed well. He is a bit emotional and feels low if he isn’t given the bowling or is dropped from the team. The way he was treated at KKR when Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan were the captains, he used to be made to sit at home and not even in the squad. When you behave like this, any match-winner feels the pressure,” Kaif was quoted by SportsKeeda as saying.
IPL 2021 was a forgettable season for Kuldeep as he warmed the benches for the entire season. A year before, in 2020, he could feature in only five matches and ended up picking up just one wicket. Lesser game time in the T20 league also reflected on his performance for India.
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Despite having two ODI hat-tricks to his credit, Kuldeep was axed from the Indian team set-up for quite a long time. He returned to a second-string squad that had travelled to Sri Lanka in July 2021. In 2022, he was named for the home T20Is against West Indies.
Kuldeep Yadav has so far played 46 IPL matches and picked up 43 wickets, averaging 29.16.
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