Kuldeep Yadav Was Harshly Dealt With In The IPL By Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajit Agarkar

Ajit Agarkar said spinner Kuldeep Yadav was harshly dealt with by KKR in the IPL and he hopes that he gets to play all the matches on the tour of Sri Lanka.

India’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka will be a crucial do or die one for Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who hasn’t been in the best of form recently and hasn’t got many opportunities to play in the last few years. Once touted as India’s go-to bowler across formats, Kuldeep Yadav has also been short of confidence after losing his place in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad where he has been in and out of the team in the last few seasons.

Ajit Agarkar Feels For Kuldeep Yadav And Says He Was Harshly Dealt With In The IPL Due To Lack Of Faith KKR Showed In Him

With most of the senior Indian players in England for the upcoming 5-match Test series, Kuldeep Yadav will look to prove a point to his critics in the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. However, he will face a stiff challenge from Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy – two bowlers who have been in fine form in the IPL.

In a press conference, former Indian cricketer Ajit Agarkar said that one has to feel for chinaman wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and that the spinner was harshly dealt with by KKR in the last few editions of the IPL by not playing him consistently.

“You feel for him a little bit. Playing in white-ball cricket at this point is very difficult. In one-day cricket with 5 bowlers in the ring, it has become a lot harder for the bowlers to bowl with two new balls – one new ball from each end. And in T20 cricket, with the kind of firepower, there is on offer, I think he was harshly dealt with in the IPL because of the lack of faith that KKR sometimes showed in him, ” Ajit Agarkar said.

“That has affected his confidence. I hope he gets to play all the games. There is some competition with Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy, but the only way he is going to get his confidence back is by playing games and not by sitting on the bench,” Ajit Agarkar said.

Compared to the 2018 season – where he played 16 matches for KKR, Kuldeep Yadav featured in just 9 games for the franchise in 2019 followed by 5 matches in IPL 2020. He stayed on the bench in the first phase of IPL 2021.

Ajit Agarkar Hopes Kuldeep Yadav Gets His Confidence Back

Agarkar highlighted that Kuldeep Yadav hasn’t got many opportunities, even for the senior team and he can get his confidence back only by playing more matches.

“Unfortunately for him, he hasn’t got too many opportunities in recent time. In white-ball cricket, he has been a match-winner for India and I hope he gets his confidence back. He has got to trust himself, I am sure there is enough around that team.

“Whether it’s his colleagues or the team management to help him out but it’s eventually up to him to sort out the issues are – whether it’s with his bowling or his confidence, but that happens only if he plays,” Ajit Agarkar added.

Kuldeep Yadav once formed a formidable spin pair with Yuzvendra Chahal but hasn’t played many international matches in the last year or so. Agarkar urged for more trust to be shown in the left-arm spinner.

“I have no advice for him as I hope he gets to play all the games. If he doesn’t do well, it’s a fair call. I just hope he gets more opportunities to play. Even in the IPL, at this point, sometimes you feel guys like him might go for a few runs but will also win you games, and sometimes teams don’t seem to show enough trust in someone who has played for India for a fair time. I hope there is a bit more trust shown in him,” the former pacer concluded.

Kuldeep Yadav also didn’t feature in a single game in the first half of the IPL 2021 and is all but certain to sit out the T20 World Cup. Hence, the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, which will feature most of India’s fringe players, will be critical for him to try and win back his place in India’s first XI.

With spinners like Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, and Varun Chakravarthy in the ranks of KKR, it remains to be seen whether the 26-year-old Chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav will get enough chances in IPL 2021 to prove his doubters wrong.