Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa is hopeful that team management makes Kuldeep Yadav a regular in the white-ball setup. Yadav has been performing consistently in the limited-overs formats and once again proved his mettle in the third T20I against the West Indies, which India won by seven wickets at Providence Stadium, Guyana on Tuesday.
The left-arm wrist spinner returned with impressive figures of 3-28 in his quota of four overs upon his comeback in the playing XI. Yadav got the big wicket of Nicholas Pooran as he had him stumped and it was a turning point in the game.
The wrist spinner from Uttar Pradesh accounted for Brandon King and Johnson Charles. Yadav also became the fastest Indian bowler to take 50 T20I wickets in 30 matches and the second fastest from Test-playing nations after Ajantha Mendis.
Yadav has drastically improved his performances and he could hold the key for the team in the upcoming ODI World Cup in the known Indian conditions.
“He has got this flighted delivery. It has the same trajectory at the point of delivery. He is able to kind of control the pace of the delivery at that trajectory. I think that’s become one of his biggest strengths today and his biggest improvements that he’s made.”
“You’ve seen Piyush Chawla do the same in the IPL this year. He bowls slower through the air at the same trajectory and which is why he’s second on that list to 50 wickets,” said Uthappa on Jio Cinema.
Meanwhile, Uthappa feels Yadav hasn’t had the rub of the green on his side as he has been dropped from the team despite performing consistently.
“You got to feel for the guy. He’s kind of waited and bided his time away and not play and every time he’s gotten an opportunity, he has got wickets. You read stuff on Twitter like Oh, man, Kuldeep has performed, he is going to get dropped in the next game. And then, often what’s happened to him in the past and you hope that’s not the case anymore and they move on from that and make him a regular member of the whiteball setup,” said Uthappa.
Kuldeep Yadav has scalped 50 wickets in 30 T20I matches at an average of 14.28 and an economy rate of 6.7. The fourth T20I between these two teams will be played on Saturday at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida.
