Kuldeep shines on comeback with all-round effort as India take the lead in the first Test against Bangladesh
India’s Kuldeep Yadav plays a shot during the second day of the first test cricket match between Bangladesh and India in Chattogram, Bangladesh, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)
From the time he walked the side as a left arm wrist spinner, Kuldeep Yadav’s career has been a start-stop affair. There were days when he played for Ravichandran Ashwin in Tests, and there have been matches where he kept warming up the bench while a substitute played for him. In the T20 format, where bowlers of his ilk are sought after, he has been in the dugout game after game.
From a regular in white-ball formats, he has missed back-to-back T20 World Cups – one due to injury and being left out. In the BCCI annual contracts, he has been relegated from rank A to class C. With Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar as all-rounders, they have often opted to leave Kuldeep out, even when India started with three spinners. . During India’s home series against England played in spin-friendly conditions, Kuldeep was dropped midway through the series. And this year, during the home series against Sri Lanka, he was dropped again to host Axar.
But by the end of the second matchday at Chattogram on Thursday, Kuldeep’s all-round efforts had helped India take control of the first Test. In his first test in almost two years, Kuldeep proved his worth. (READ MORE)