-Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai
“Bade bhaiya toh humare ek hi bhaiya hai, Virat bhai (I have only one elder brother, Virat bhai),” Kuldeep Yadav said with a smile. There was no disrespect to his other teammates. In fact, the left-arm wrist-spinner would soon say how it has been a privilege to share the dressing room with two great players – Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
The respect for Kohli is not limited to Kuldeep in this Indian team. Even Jasprit Bumrah, out injured at the moment, who watched his mates in action against Pakistan in Dubai International Stadium on Sunday from his smart seats, falls for his former captain. “I have said this before, Virat Kohli doesn’t need us, we need him,” the fast bowler had said during India’s tour of Australia.
Once again, Kohli made the stage his own in an India-Pakistan game, scoring an unbeaten century and anchoring his team to victory. All said and done, the chase wasn’t too steep for India, after Pakistan were all out for 241. Kuldeep’s 3/40 from nine overs played a big part in restricting Pakistan’s total to a moderate one. Hardik Pandya (2/31 from eight), too, bowled a couple of excellent spells.
Sometimes, Kuldeep’s record against Pakistan gets slipped under the radar. He boasts a very good one – 15 wickets from seven ODIs, including a five-for. What’s the secret?
“Pakistan are a big team,” he said, interacting with the media in the mixed zone after Sunday’s game. “There has been a rivalry over the years. There’s pressure from the fans. Expectations are high. I enjoy it. I try to do my best, and I keep learning.”
One noticeable feature in Kuldeep’s bowling in the Champions Trophy game against Pakistan was the way he mostly bowled the chinaman, keeping the wrong’un as a shock option. All the while, he looked to be in good rhythm and his first scalp, Salman Agha, came via a chinaman as well. He also bowled it a little slower through the air.
Shaheen Shah Afridi came, and Kuldeep unleashed a wrong’un, trapping the batsman plumb in front. Why Shaheen went for a review was anyone’s guess.
“Salman’s wicket was a normal chinaman, but I varied the pace,” said Kuldeep. “When Shaheen came, I thought it would be better to target the stumps, so I bowled a wrong’un.”
The 30-year-old walked the extra mile to play the Champions Trophy. He missed the Test series in Australia due to a hernia surgery, and couldn’t afford a slip-up during his recovery and rehab phase at the National Cricket Academy. The affable Kuldeep credited the physios at the NCA, who worked “very hard” to ensure that the bowler recovered in time to be available for the ICC event. Getting the rhythm back, though, was a challenge.
“Sometimes, it takes six months to find the right rhythm after coming back from an injury,” said Kuldeep. “I was getting there in the two matches against England. Even against Bangladesh, I had a good rhythm. But today (Sunday), when I bowled my first over, I felt that I was in a better rhythm. In terms of accuracy, I feel that if I play more games, I will be much better in that area.”
When Varun Chakravarthy made a wild-card entry into India’s Champions Trophy set-up, questions were asked about whether Kuldeep would be the team’s first choice? Speculations intensified after Gautam Gambhir called Varun the potential “X-factor”. But behind the scenes, the team management always kept uncertainties at arm’s length. Kuldeep was always going to be their preferred choice.
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