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To be a mystery spinner and find one’s mystique unravelled by powerful batters and data analytics can leave one deflated. For a while, he was. Kuldeep Yadav’s weak moments in the heat of action have often been in public view.
That’s until the Kanpur spinner got back to the basics and returned with a straighter, faster, more rhythmic bowling action. We know how it helped Kuldeep resurrect his white-ball career.
Now, in Ravindra Jadeja’s misfortune, there may lie an opportunity for Kuldeep to breathe some life into his unfulfilled Test career. A purveyor of the rare art of left-arm wrist spin, having bamboozled the best batters in limited-overs cricket, Kuldeep’s Test cricket resume — 8 matches in 7 years — speaks of a letdown of epic proportions. If Rohit Sharma could course correct at 31, perhaps Kuldeep at 29 can do it too.
Before the Hyderabad Test, Kuldeep’s name was considered. “Kuldeep is a much more mature bowler now. He has not played a lot of Test cricket in India because of Ashwin and Jadeja clearly. But that is what happens. Like with our middle order, we all got an opportunity late. But that’s the reality of it. From what he was a couple of years back, he is much more improved and a very tempting option,” Rohit Sharma had said.
Now with Jadeja ruled out of the Visakhapatnam Test starting on Friday due to a hamstring injury and headed for rehabilitation, Kuldeep could become the first-choice replacement. That’s unless India go for Washington Sundar as the third spinner, after Ashwin and Axar Patel. They could also go with four spinners, though it is less likely.
Among those who worked with Kuldeep behind the scenes is former left-arm spinner and Uttar Pradesh coach Sunil Joshi. Putting his former selector’s hat on, Joshi believes Kuldeep must play.
“Of late, Kuldeep has consistently bowled batters through the gate with flight and disguise with the white ball. He will do even better with the red ball because it has more shine, and he will extract more turn and bounce. He could be very effective because English players have been poor against wrist spin,” Joshi said.
One of the reasons Kuldeep found himself out of elite cricket was batters lining up against his slower trajectory. That’s been largely corrected by the new-found zip in his bowling action. As Anil Kumble explained on ESPNCricinfo, running in straighter meant the body was more behind the ball which helped the pace at which he bowled. “Naturally, he doesn’t have to bowl quicker. It’s not that the arm-speed has suddenly become quicker,” he said.
Kuldeep’s ability to think on his feet when under the pump was also questioned. If he plays, English batters have given enough evidence of what he must expect. Joshi takes you back to Kuldeep’s duel with New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell in the 2023 ODI World Cup. The powerful right-hander had taken Kuldeep down for three straight sixes. The crafty spinner among his other responses hurled a fast cross-seamer anticipating a reverse-sweep and a wide googly to which Mitchell almost holed out but was grassed in the deep. Kuldeep, nevertheless, was able to stem the flow of straight boundaries and got two other wickets in the spell.
“Mitchell wanted to keep attacking but was never allowed to hit out. That was with the white ball. At some time, I will have a word with him before the Test match. He is aware of what he has to. When he lands the red ball on the seam, the effect will be totally different. I don’t think they can pre-plan against him,” said Joshi.
As a point of difference, India will still have Axar bowling with his higher release point, a vital factor when the pitch is assisting turn, as England left-arm spinner Tom Hartley showed. “On a spin-friendly wicket, a spinner from a height (higher release point) can make a bigger impact. Your close-in fielders come into play more,” said Joshi.
Although, Jadeja’s skill sets are difficult to match in Indian conditions, in Kuldeep’s guile, Axar’s accuracy and Ashwin’s hurt pride, India will try to ride the home wave, once again.
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