Kuldeep Yadav was over the moon during a felicitation ceremony in Kanpur after he returned to his home after featuring in India’s recent T20 World Cup 2024 win in the USA and the West Indies.
Last Saturday in Barbados, India won its first ICC title in 11 years. Rohit Sharma led the Indian side to victory over Aiden Markram’s South Africa in the final, bringing an end to their trophy drought. Kuldeep Yadav, a wrist spinner, played an important role in the team’s campaign.
Aside from the final, the wrist spinner was instrumental in grabbing wickets in the middle overs and breaking critical partnerships for India in the just-concluded World Cup. He took ten wickets in the competition from just five games, with an economy rate of 6.95 and an average of 13.95.
“This experience is something that could take a lifetime for some people. Thus, I want the team to fare the same way in the next ICC tournament (Champions Trophy) and play its best cricket,” Kuldeep said at a felicitation in Kanpur as quoted by PTI.
The 29-year-old made his T20 international debut in 2017, however, because of his drop in form, he was not even included in the teams for the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups.
“Rohit bhai has always supported me”- Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav was out of cricket for a while in 2021 as he underwent surgery on his knee and also parted ways with his IPL franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders in a not-so-good term. Kuldeep rehabbed hard at the NCA and came back with a new lease of life in his cricketing career.
He was picked by the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2023 auction and since then, he has been in terrific form and even managed to regain his spot in India’s white-ball teams, becoming the first-choice spinner. He has also made huge strides in Test cricket as well.
“After Dhoni retired, my performance with the ball wasn’t great. It happens that a person guides you and when that person’s influence is not there anymore, suddenly everything is on your shoulders. It takes time for you to react to the situation.
Rohit bhai has always supported me. When I was injured, he was continuously in touch with me and specifically told me about what he wanted from me. After the injury, he picked me directly in the team,” the leg-spinner said in a select media interaction.
Currently, Kuldeep Yadav is on a break after India’s T20 World Cup win and is most likely to be seen in action on the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka in July.
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