Kuldeep Yadav Has To Find His Own Solution To Regain Form In MS Dhoni's Absence: Venkatapathy Raju

Former Indian spinner Venkatapathy Raju believes that leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav will need to find a way to regain his form now that his mentor MS Dhoni is no longer there to give him inputs from behind the stumps.

Kuldeep Yadav has time and again revealed how he used to benefit from the insights that MS Dhoni used to give him.

Before Dhoni retired, Kuldeep claimed as many as 103 wickets in 95 ODIs but since then, his form has tapered off substantially.

He is no longer a certainty in India’s playing XI across formats and the upcoming Sri Lankan series will be a huge opportunity for him to once again make his mark and keep himself in contention for the T20 World Cup.

With the tracks in Sri Lanka and UAE expected to aid his style of bowling, Raju believes that Kuldeep Yadav could prove to be a match-winner for Team India in the upcoming World Cup.

“Sri Lanka tracks will be slow, there will be some bite, so it is good for him (Kuldeep) to make a comeback. With IPL and T20 World Cup tracks in UAE likely to be dry and spin-friendly, Kuldeep can be a match-winner,” Raju told PTI.

“But unfortunately, we all knew how captains had played a big role in Kuldeep growth. He has been always saying that he was very comfortable playing under Dhoni, but Dhoni is not going to be there for him till his career is over, so hopefully, he has to come with a solution,” he added.

‘He should bowl the way he knows’- Venkatapathy Raju on Kuldeep Yadav

Raju further reckoned that Kuldeep is a fantastic bowler; a wicket-taker, and he just focus on his strengths in whatever opportunities he gets against Sri Lanka.

“He (Kuldeep) is still a very fantastic bowler. He is very young, so (when) you already have experience of playing international cricket it’s entirely up to him to concentrate and he has always been a wicket-taker, he has not been a defensive bowler,” said Raju.

“He should bowl the way he knows and you get limited opportunities and luckily for him, this (Sri Lanka) tour has come up, and there won’t be much pressure on him, he has to bowl the best he can because we all know he has got that variety,” he added.

The former spinner signed off by stating that Kuldeep’s ability to pick wickets in clusters could hold him in good stead and he should be a part of the T20 World Cup squad.

”Kuldeep has good habit, when he picks a single wicket, he ends up taking two or three (wickets). So, I think he should also be a part of (T20 World Cup),” Raju said.

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