'Ravi Shastri asked, what've you done with Kuldeep?': Ex-BCCI selector says no one helped India spinner when he was axed
Sunil Joshi was part of the BCCI selection panel when Kuldeep Yadav was dropped and he was surprised to see that nobody came to the spinner's aid.
Guess who is India's highest wicket-taker in 2023? Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur or Yuzvendra Chahal? Well, surprise, surprise! It's Kuldeep Yadav with 22 wickets. Yes, the same Kuldeep, who until a while ago was lost in the wilderness, trying his way back into the Indian team. Once an indispensable part of India's Playing XI along with Chahal, forming the famous 'Kul-Cha' combo during the Virat Kohli-MS Dhoni era, Kuldeep slipped down in the pecking order as batters began to target him mercilessly in white-ball cricket. Be it Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow's combined assault on him at the T20 World Cup, or the sight of a broken Kuldeep down on his knees almost in tears after being hammered by Andre Russell in the IPL.
Perhaps nothing sums up Kuldeep's hard luck than the fact that after he had grabbed a five-wicket-haul against Australia in Sydney, the wrist-spinner had to wait for over 2 years to play his next Test. As Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel spun opponents out, Kuldeep's chances faded. He was out of the Indian team for almost an eternity with absolutely no support, reveals former India selector Sunil Joshi. The former India left-arm spinner, in an exchange with The Indian Express, revealed that when help did not arrive for a struggling Kuldeep, he took it upon himself to change the India spinner's floundering fortunes.
"I was part of the selection committee when Kuldeep Yadav got dropped. Who came to the rescue? None of the coaching staff, I was the one who got his delivery stride shorter, front arm better, arm speed better, got him to rip more revolutions on the ball," Joshi told The Indian Express.
Ravi Shastri goes WOW at Kuldeep's resurgence
Kuldeep's career endured the lowest of lows during IPL 2021, when he did not feature in a single game for Kolkata Knight Riders. Even in the Indian team, despite being picked in the squad, he hardly got a game. And if he did, Kuldeep hardly made it to consecutive Playing XIs. When all seemed lost, help arrived from Joshi, who, as Kuldeep's recent stats prove, did a bloody good job at it. With Joshi's hand on his shoulders, and a rejuvenated support system from Delhi Capitals behind him – coach Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson included – the new and improved Kuldeep was so impressive that even Ravi Shastri, the former India coach, could not help but marvel at this remarkable turnaround.
"Suddenly, everybody is talking about Kuldeep Yadav. Ravi Shastri asked Sunil, what have you done with Kuldeep? I said, 'Ravi bhai I have not done anything special. These are the simple things that a bowling coach should be doing'. If you look at Kuldeep 2.0, his front arm is nice toward the target, his bowling arm is towards the target, he is running towards the target. Shorter stride, there is a free follow through, he has got quicker through the air. You look at the way he is bowling now," added Joshi while speaking to The Indian Express.
Kuldeep has been nothing short of sensational with his performances in 2023, which include some much-disciplined figures such as 3/53 vs Sri Lanka, 3/62 vs New Zealand, 3/56 against Australia, 4/46 against West Indies and more.
