It Was Like I Was Making My Debut: Kuldeep Yadav On Making A Comeback In India XI In Sri Lanka

Indian bowler Kuldeep Yadav revealed that playing against Sri Lanka in the limited-overs tour in July for him was like making his international debut.

Over the last year, Kuldeep Yadav’s career has seen many ups and downs coming his way after the left-arm wrist spinner was unable to find enough games to play which have somehow dented his confidence. Despite being included in the squad for Australian Tests in Down Under, Kuldeep was seen warming the bench throughout the series, even when the regular players got injured.

Nothing changed in the home series against England where he was handed a solitary game in which Virat Kohli gave him only 12.2 overs to bowl in the entire game, yet Kuldeep returned with two wickets.

It was like I was making my debut in Sri Lanka series: Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep was also included in India’s limited-overs squad against Sri Lanka, which included many young players, who got the chance to make their debut. Kuldeep said that it is a pressure for anyone to perform after a break.

“It was a kind of a comeback in Sri Lanka. It was like I was making my debut because there were a lot of youngsters in the team. There is a pressure to perform and when you perform after a break, there is a bit of pressure,” Kuldeep Yadav told Aakash Chopra on the latter’s YouTube channel.

Rahul Dravid told me not to focus on the future, just focus on the present: Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep, who was ignored for the T20 World Cup selection by the selectors, played a combined four matches in both the ODI and T20I series and picked two wickets in each of them. Kuldeep also mentioned that Rahul Dravid, the tour’s head coach, told him not to focus on the future and bowl at that moment.

“I enjoyed the way I bowled in Sri Lanka. The way the ball was leaving my hand and the way it was spinning, I was bowling well. There was not much pressure. Before the game, Rahul Sir told me not to focus on the future, just focus on the present and that gave me a lot of confidence,” Kuldeep Yadav said. 

Kuldeep has played seven Tests, 65 ODIs and 22 T20 international matches for India and accumulated 174 wickets across all formats.

Also Read: “They Had No Faith In My Skill,”: Kuldeep Yadav Unhappy With Kolkata Knight Riders Team Management