Kuldeep Yadav is considered to be one of the most gifted left-arm wrist spinners to play for India and now many would know that he was a part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) during the 2012 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2012).
The then 17-year-old didn’t get an opportunity to feature in the cash-rich league but would have definitely learned a lot by sharing the dressing room with some absolutely star-studded names.
Even the legendary Sachin Tendulkar was part of that MI dressing room and he was still playing international cricket for India as well at that time.
On the show, Breakfast with Champions, Kuldeep Yadav shared how he first got to bowl to Sachin Tendulkar in nets in IPL 2012 and he also revealed an amazing life advice from him regarding the glitz and glamor of the tournament.
Kuldeep said about the conversation that he had with Sachin Tendulkar after that practice session:
“It was during that season only (IPL 2012) that I had broken into India’s U19 team. I was 17 years old. We had a series in Australia and I didn’t have a great experience. Paaji (Tendulkar) wanted an early net session and I bowled to him for the first time for about an hour. I did dismiss him too.”
Kuldeep was concerned about his performances then at the U19 level, Sachin Tendulkar calmed him down.
He added: “I was very young so I opened up about my experience in the Australia series and how I bowled. Paaji made me understand that such things will happen in future too and not to get disheartened. He also told me about how to keep myself away from IPL’s lifestyle and keep a check on what I eat, sleep on time, etc.”
You Need Not Try Anything New: Kuldeep Yadav On Rohit Sharma’s Advice To Him During NCA Rehab
Kuldeep Yadav had suffered an injury to his hand while batting in the nets ahead of India’s T20I series against South Africa that was played at home in June last year. He shared India skipper Rohit Sharma’s advice when he was undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA in Bengaluru.
“When you come back, you have to do what I told you. You need not try anything new. Just work on it. How you do it is your outlook, approach a bowling coach or anyone for that matter but do what I told you,” he revealed.