I Hope Kuldeep Yadav Gets To Play All The Games In Sri Lanka: Ajit Agarkar

Former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar feels that left-arm leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been dealt harshly by his IPL franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, and the Indian team management.

Once touted as one of India’s biggest match-winners in white-ball cricket, Kuldeep Yadav’s stocks have steadily declined in the past 15-20 months and the fact that he hasn’t been given a fair number of games by his IPL team hasn’t helped his cause either.

Kuldeep Yadav has featured in just 14 games for KKR in the past three seasons and he hasn’t got many opportunities to play for Team India either.

The upcoming three ODIs and as many T20Is in Sri Lanka will be crucial for Kuldeep as he will look to make a strong case for himself ahead of the T20 World Cup.

And, Agarkar is hoping that the ‘chinaman’ gets to play all the games to prove his worth.

“I have no advice for him as I hope he gets to play all the games. If he doesn’t do well, it’s a fair call. I just hope he gets more opportunities to play. Even in the IPL, at this point, sometimes you feel guys like him might go for a few runs but will also win you games and sometimes teams don’t seem to show enough trust in someone who has played for India for a fair time. I hope there is a bit more trust shown in him,” said Ajit Agarkar as quoted by Timesnewsnow.com

While the team management at KKR and the national side haven’t really shown their faith in Kuldeep, Ajit Agarkar believes that the onus is on the young Uttar Pradesh spinner to trust himself and sort out whatever issues that he is facing as a bowler.

“You feel for him a little bit. Playing in white-ball cricket at this point is very difficult. In one-day cricket with 5 bowlers in the ring, it has become a lot harder for the bowlers to bowl with two new balls – one new ball from each end. And in T20 cricket, with the kind of firepower there is on offer, I think he was harshly dealt with in the IPL because of the lack of faith that KKR sometimes showed in him. That has affected his confidence. I hope he gets to play all the games. There is some competition with Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy, but the only way he is going to get his confidence back is by playing games and not by sitting on the bench”, says Ajit Agarkar

“Unfortunately for him, he hasn’t got too many opportunities in recent time. In white-ball cricket, he has been a match-winner for India and I hope he gets his confidence back. He has got to trust himself, I am sure there is enough around that team. Whether it’s his colleagues or the team management to help him out but it’s eventually up to him to sort out the issues are – whether it’s with his bowling or his confidence, but that happens only if he plays,” Agarkar added.

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