Look at the sky, and you might, just might, see Kuldeep Yadav flying high!
All eyes are on him following back-to-back match-winning performances against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which have catapulted India to the final of the Asia Cup.
The left-arm wrist spinner has taken nine wickets over the two rain-interrupted Super 4 contests and has 31 wickets this year – the highest for a bowler from the Test playing nations – in just 15 ODI matches at a career best average of 15.48.
The confidence he exudes while bowling seems invincible, which makes sense, given that it has been built on a series of trials and tribulations. Everything is sunshine and rainbows for the 28-year-old right now but it was only just two years ago when his career seemed to be hurtling downhill, like a boulder lodged off a cliff.
Pinnacle to Pit
Regarded as India’s 'primary overseas spinner' by then-coach Ravi Shastri following the Sydney Test in 2019, and having played six of India’s eight games at the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England, Kuldeep’s stars were shining bright.
However, everything came crashing for him following the onset of COVID-19 and he was not the same bowler emerging out of the pandemic as he was going into it.
The year 2021 proved to be rock bottom for Kuldeep as he got conveniently taken for granted by his former IPL franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, and didn’t even get a single appearance in IPL 2021. Even in the preceding editions, he had been given only 14 matches across two seasons.
Inevitably, he had also lost his prominence in the Indian national team as a result of poor form and underwhelming performances. Over the course of 2020 and 2021, he made just seven appearances across all formats and had a bowling average of 53.83 in 2020 and 127.50 in 2021.
Strip Everything Down and Build Again
The general consensus surrounding him was that he had been found out. While the initial success in his career had largely been built on preserving mystery in his bowling and surprising batters, Kuldeep had now become predictable and easy to read.
As a result, batters would often get on top of him from the word go, making it even more difficult to retain control and exercise any kind of counter-measures. During this period of his career, he looked quite deflated and devoid of any confidence and it was no surprise that his on-field performances were also affecting him personally off the field.
The bowler from Uttar Pradesh was released by KKR in the middle of IPL 2021, following a serious knee injury that required surgery. That injury put him on the sidelines for up to four months but little did he know that it would be a major turning point in his life and career.
Following the injury, Kuldeep used his time away from the limelight to rehabilitate at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. It was here where he began tweaking and improving his technique and adding elements to his arsenal to help him regain his confidence and get back to the top of world cricket.
Kuldeep Yadav 2.0
He worked extensively with former Indian spinner and selector Sunil Joshi during this period.
So what technical adjustments did he make to his game?
When faced with this question following his five-wicket haul against Pakistan, Kuldeep said, “My run up has become straighter. My rhythm has become aggressive. My approach is good. My hand (non-bowling arm) perhaps used to fall a bit earlier. Now that has come under control. It is pointing more towards the batter. That has helped me a lot.
I’ve not lost my spin or drift. That hasn’t gone away. Perhaps my pace has increased a bit, which is helping me. I mainly think about hitting a good length as much as possible as a wrist spinner. What I think is that if you don’t bowl loose balls and stay consistent, it increases your chances of being successful.Kuldeep Yadav
The change in pace is the most visible and prominent upgrade that he has made. While he used to get a lot of slack for being too slow through the air and allowing batters too much time to play on the backfoot, ‘Kuldeep 2.0’ is a lot quicker and packs plenty of punch and aggression in his bowling.
Analysing Kuldeep's Asia Cup Tactic
Against Pakistan, his dismissals of Fakhar Zaman and Iftikhar Ahmed were affected by this increased pace that both batters failed to read. Fakhar was done in by a straighter delivery bowled at 87kmph while Iftikhar tried to pull his 93 kmph ball - one of the fastest he bowled that night - but failed to time it well and got caught by the bowler himself.
While earlier he used to bowl around the 75-80 kmph range, these days his deliveries approach 90 kmph more often than not and much to his credit, this improvement has not come at the cost of losing control over his drift and turn.
Kuldeep has also become extremely consistent with the areas he targets on the pitch. Patrolling the middle overs, he largely bowls stump-to-stump line and in the good length area, making it difficult to judge whether the ball will come in or stay straight.
Take the dismissals of Kasun Rajitha and Matheesha Pathirana in the match against Sri Lanka, for example. Of course, neither of them are specialist batters and Kuldeep used that to his advantage and got them bowled with classical stump-to-stump bowling.
In the rare case that he pitches the ball to the fourth or fifth stump, he can often induce the batter to charge down and play for the turn. Sadeera Samawickrama got out to a similar delivery where he tried to come down the pitch and slog the delivery bowled away from the line of sight, only to be fooled and stumped by the keeper.
One Step at a Time
Since returning from injury in February 2022, Kuldeep has collected 43 wickets in 22 ODIs at an outstanding average of 18.9 and at an economy rate of 4.72. He is looking better than he has ever done in his career.
There is no doubt that the pressure will be intense as the home World Cup inches closer and closer. But Kuldeep, who is now six years into his international career, has come back from the face of near extinction and possesses the wherewithal to deal with that kind of challenge.
Following his exploits against Pakistan, he said that he is ‘happy to live in the moment’ and that it was the kind of performance he will always look back on once he hangs up his shoes. The 28-year-old also looks and sounds a lot more secure now as he heads into the World Cup as India’s specialist spin bowler once again.
Only time will tell whether he can keep up this inspired momentum, but honestly after all the setbacks he has faced and recovered from, Kuldeep Yadav will be the first to tell you to live in the moment and take it one step at a time.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)