Star Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s childhood coach Kapil Pandey credited Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting and skipper Rishabh Pant for his quick turnaround of things in International Cricket after his dip in form during his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders in the last few years.
Kuldeep Yadav was the primary spinner in the Indian team in the 2019 World Cup. The left-arm spinner found himself out of the team following the team exit in the marquee event, as he was not provided with an opportunity to represent the country across the format due to poor form and his form in the Indian Premier League has gone down before he was picked for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2022.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Kuldeep’s childhood coach Kapil Pandey revealed that Ricky Ponting and Rishabh Pant gave him confidence in playing in all the games for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL and said that the DC assistant Coach Shane Watson has helped him to improve his batting in the game and asserted that Delhi has become a home for the Indian spinner, which reflected on his performance for the Indian team.
“Ricky Ponting told him ‘I am going to play you all the matches. There is a reason Warnie (Shane Warne) likes you and I can see why. You are going to be our matchwinner,” he said.
“Rishabh told him ‘aapko acha karna hoga bhaiya, aapse bada bowler nahi hai India mein (you have to do well, there is no better bowler than you in India)’,”
“Shane Watson worked on his batting. He found a home in Delhi and you can see the performances,” Kuldeep Yadav’s childhood coach Kapil Pandey said.
The 28-year-old made a comeback into the Indian team following the impressive IPL 2023 and has shown the ability to pick up wickets consistently in the middle overs–and he provides a different dimension to India’s bowling and could be important for India in ODI World Cup as the games could be played on slow wickets, which may assist the spinner in the middle.
With a lot of cricket to be played in sub-continental conditions for the next six months, Rohit Sharma-led side will demand at least two spinners in the playing XI alongside Ravindra Jadeja. The Left-arm chinaman spinner could be the wicket-taking option for India in the Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023 respectively.