Kuldeep Yadav’s subtle wr-spin sets him apart

In India’s ICC Champions Trophy victory against Pakan, Virat Kohli’s century (100* on 111 balls) was a key ingredient. But Kuldeep Yadav was the secret spice for India as he played an important role in reducing Pakan to 241.
The subtle nature of Kuldeep Yadav’s art makes him stand out from some of the best wr-spinners in the hory of the game, including the likes of Shane Warne and Anil Kumble.
It’s this quality that bamboozles batsmen when they attempt to target Kuldeep at the business end of limited-overs games. Take the match against Pakan at the ICC Champions Trophy, for example.
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Pakan had reached 200/5 with eight overs left in their innings. Salman Ali Agha and Khushdil Shah had a good partnership going and were looking to take their side to a strong total.
India’s Kuldeep Yadav, left, reacts after a delivery bowled to Pakan’s Khushdil Shah during the ICC Champions Trophy at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. (AP Photo)
When they saw the ball being handed to Kuldeep, they thought their opportunity had arrived. Salman tried to go for a big shot to an overspun stock delivery, but the ball didn’t go where it was intended to. The right-hander couldn’t read the 83 kph cross-seam delivery and tried to flick it towards the legside, only managing to find Ravindra Jadeja at cover- point.
Kuldeep’s variations can puzzle even the best of batsmen, so it was no surprise that next man Shaheen Shah Afridi was all at sea.
A back-of-the-hand googly trapped the left-hander on the crease. It landed on the fourth-stump line and caught Afridi plumb in front. The ball darted in quickly, leaving very little reaction time for the batsman, who shaped to defend it on the backfoot before attempting a flick in vain, but couldn’t get bat on ball.Story continues below this ad
The two back-to-back wickets put Pakan behind the eight-ball, but Naseem Shah has the capability to send the ball out the ground in the final few overs. Kuldeep ensured that he couldn’t do much damage.
It was a full length delivery, bowled on off- and middle-stump. Trying to go big over long-on, Naseem couldn’t judge the sudden dip and chipped it to the deep fielder. Along with spin and pace variation, what makes Kuldeep special is how he holds up the ball.
Despite going wicketless in the first six overs of his spell, conceding 28 runs, Kuldeep kept the batsmen honest, reading the game and the batsmen’s minds, which makes him a big asset at the back-end of the innings.
Also, he has the uncanny ability to make quality batsmen look silly. A classic example is Babar Azam’s dismissal in the 2019 ODI World Cup. The delivery was tossed up at 78 kph, and drew the batsman forward before pitching and spinning back 5.8 degrees to strike the off-stump. It is this sudden change of pace and rotation of the ball that sets Kuldeep apart from other wr-spinners.Story continues below this ad
The pitch in Dubai is set to slow down further and ass spin as the tournament goes on. The team management will hope that Kuldeep continues his good work as India aim to clinch back-to-back major ICC titles.
(The writer is an intern with The Indian Express)