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Kuldeep Yadav was once India's biggest wicket-taking spinner in white-ball cricket, but now he is nowhere, struggling to get chances across the formats. And former Indian spinner Maninder Singh blamed the national selectors and the team management for the left-arm wrist spinner’s situation.
Kuldeep did not get a single match on India's recent white-ball tours of Ireland and England. His continuous absence from the playing XI has surprised many fans and former cricketers.
This forced the Chinaman bowler to sign both red-ball and white-ball contracts with Yorkshire for the rest of the season to be able to get regular match practice.
Maninder Singh reveals the real reason behind Kuldeep Yadav's India exile
Following his signing, Maninder Singh slammed the lack of confidence shown by the India national cricket team management after Kuldeep Yadav lost his place in the playing XI. He believes that a bowler like Kuldeep cannot suddenly lose his wicket-taking ability.
The former spinner has further explained that when a player keeps sitting on the bench, he slowly starts losing confidence, and the same thing is happening with the left-arm wrist-spinner. Amid this, former Mumbai Indians star criticises Gautam Gambhir for taking a break during Zimbabwe tour.
Maninder Singh was quoted as saying by The Indian Express, “Sometimes your wicket-taking ability can go down if the team management is not showing confidence. I think he still has it in him. It’s just that if you keep him on the bench all the time and don’t give him chances to play, you don’t give him confidence.”
He urged the think tank to have regular communication and provide regular support to Kuldeep. Maninder said, "If a bowler of Kuldeep Yadav's caliber, who was getting you wickets in the middle overs, suddenly starts going down, there has to be a reason for it. And the reason, I feel, is that he is not getting enough confidence from the team management. That is the only problem. Everything else is the same.”
Maninder Singh makes emotional appeal for Kuldeep Yadav
The former Indian spinner also pointed out that Kuldeep Yadav has actually improved his bowling over the last few years. He has worked hard on his pace, shoulder, body, follow-through, and overall bowling action. He urged the team management to give Kuldeep confidence and regular opportunities, and he will once again become India's main wicket-taking spinner.
Maninder further mentioned, “The only problem at the minute is that he needs confidence. If you keep taking his confidence away, then you start talking about release position, ball drift, and everything else, which is secondary. If you give that man the confidence a cricketer requires, you will see him back among the wickets.”
Maninder Singh slams India's all-rounder obsession with bold warning
The former Indian spinner also questioned the team’s current selection strategy. He pointed out that the team management is playing too many all-rounders because they want batting till number eight, and that’s where they are making a mistake.
He believes that all-rounders are important in white-ball cricket, but they should not replace bowlers who can win matches with the ball. Maninder signed off by saying, “I am getting a little surprised with the way the teams are being selected.
We are trying to have that cushion where we are extending our batting till number eight. You cannot keep playing all-rounders just because you think they are going to give you performances. I would rather have a bowler who gets you wickets in the middle overs and keeps you in the game.”
