The left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s childhood coach Kapil Dev Pandey credited the current Indian captain Rohit Sharma for Kuldeep’s resurgence and said the India opener has “protected” the career of Kuldeep Yadav.
Kuldeep Yadav, who warmed the bench for most of the time during his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders and was later dropped from the national team, was bought by Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Indian Premier League 2022 mega auction in Bengaluru for the base price of INR 2 crore.
However, the Chinaman has turned things around, picking as many as 17 wickets in nine games for his new franchise and is currently the second highest wicket taker in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
In an interview with TimesofIndia.com, Kapil Dev Pandey said that the captaincy change from Virat Kohli to Rohit Sharma in the Indian cricket has worked in favor of Kuldeep Yadav in many ways.
He further pointed out how Kuldeep was not getting chances despite having a good record in Tests and 2 hat-tricks in ODI against Australia (in 2017) and West Indies (in 2019).
“Whenever captains trusted him, Kuldeep delivered. He has a good record in Tests. He has two hat-tricks in ODIs. He has a good T20I record. But still, he didn’t get enough opportunities. This is really shocking. Kuldeep’s career is protected because of Rohit Sharma,” Pandey said.
“Rohit is the man behind Kuldeep’s resurgence. He is a fantastic captain and he knows how to find talent in a big group of players. Ahead of the IPL, Rohit called Kuldeep and gave him the chance (against the West Indies). Kuldeep delivered too by taking two wickets,” Pandey added.
Virat Kohli Preferred Axar Patel Ahead of Kuldeep Because of Former’s Batting Capabilities – Kapil Dev Pandey
Pandey said that without the support of Rohit, Rishabh Pant, and Ricky Ponting, Kuldeep’s comeback wouldn’t have been possible. He further added that Kuldeep played a lot of games under Virat Kohli but the former Indian captain picked Axar Patel ahead of Kuldeep due to his batting abilities.
“Rohit kept a close eye on Kuldeep, his Yo-Yo Test and rehab reports. Rohit was impressed with Kuldeep’s rehab programme. Rohit should be credited for Kuldeep’s comeback. He wouldn’t have been here today without the support of Rohit, Pant and Ponting.
“Every captain has their own style of captaining and picking players. Kuldeep played a lot of cricket under Virat. Virat wants experience in the side. He went with Ashwin and Jadeja.
“He preferred Axar ahead of Kuldeep because of Axar’s batting capabilities. A captain has to trust his players,” the coach further told TimesofIndia.com.
