Table of Contents
The India National Cricket Team won the first Test match against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team at the Galle International Cricket Stadium, Galle, to take a lead of 0-1 in the two-match Test series. After the conclusion of the first Test, Venkatesh Prasad, the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), shared his views on Kuldeep Yadav’s poor performance.
India dominated the Lankan Lions from the very start of the match. Shubman Gill’s side was struggling in the traditional format, and this win surely gives a big boost for the side. They won by a big margin of 165 runs; despite the win, they are sitting at 5th in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 table.
"Kuldeep, please don't worry"- Venkatesh Prasad backs Kuldeep Yadav
While speaking on Sony Sports Network, Venkatesh Prasad stated that it is important to back Kuldeep Yadav during his off-form, and he wants the team and skipper Gill to provide him clarity and also show faith in him that he will play the next game despite the fact that he failed in the first game.
Prasad said (as quoted by India Today),"It is important to address Kuldeep Yadav as a team management and as a captain. And I would say, Kuldeep, please don't worry, you're going to play the next Test match as well."
"There is Saransh Jain in the team as an off-spinner, and there are a lot of left-handers batting for Sri Lanka. It's probably an easy choice to get Saransh for the next Test match, but I would say no, and I'm going to give him another opportunity."
Kuldeep Yadav failed to perform in 1st Test
Kuldeep Yadav failed to perform in the first game as he picked just one wicket in the Test match. He was the weakest among the bowlers, as the other spinners Manav Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja picked 14 wickets combined. The left-arm wrist spinner took 1/65 in 14 overs in the first innings and 0/38 in 11 overs in the second.
However, Venkatesh Prasad believes that it is okay not to perform; he would have backed Kuldeep to play the next match as it will provide him confidence.
"Kuldeep didn't perform as expected, and it's easy to say OK, let's get Saransh, who's an off-spinner, but I would still go with Kuldeep. I think this is how we need to sort of give confidence to the players."
"His job is to pick up wickets": Cheteshwar Pujara on Kuldeep Yadav's strength
Apart from Prasad, former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara also backed Kuldeep during his poor form as he believes he is an attacking bowler and his main thing is to pick wickets; he might go for runs, which is fine.
"Kuldeep's job is not to attack the rough. I think his job is to pick up wickets. He might be a little expensive in some of his spells, which is fine. Someone like Ravichandran Ashwin, when he used to come in to bowl, some of his spells were expensive. He might concede a couple of fours and sixes, but he has the ability to pick up wickets, and Kuldeep is a similar sort of bowler," said Pujara
