Kuldeep Yadav's childhood coach reveals how Delhi Capitals helped out-of-favour spinner make brilliant comeback

As the 2023 ODI World Cup approaches, the biggest positive for Team India is the return of Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm chinaman became an out-of-favour star after the 2019 World Cup, but made a super comeback in the last 12 months. He has taken 48 wickets in 25 matches across formats during this period - 8 in a single Test in Bangladesh, 32 wickets in 18 ODIs and 8 wickets in 6 T20Is.

The 28-year-old continued his excellent form in the ongoing white-ball series against West Indies. His ferocious spin attack was on display during India's must-win fourth T20I at Lauderhill, Florida on Saturday, August 12. Captain Hardik Pandya gave the ball to Kuldeep in the sixth over when dangerous Windies power hitters Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell were at the crease.

The duo had crushed the Indian bowling unit in the series, but Kuldeep did not bother about those and dismissed Pooran for the second time in a row. The southpaw tried to hit a six over long-on but failed to connect properly and it ended up in the hands of Suryakumar Yadav. In the same over, the left-arm spinner continued his magic by dismissing rival captain Powell, who tried to smash it to the on-side, but the ball turned and hit the outside edge.

Kuldeep, who was released by Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR) in the Indian Premier League in 2021 following a knee injury, was signed by Delhi Capitals (DC) the following year. He didn't get enough opportunities with KKR but the Delhi-based franchise gave him much support which proved to be instrumental in his brilliant comeback in international cricket.

Kuldeep's childhood coach is full of praise for DC 

Speaking about Kuldeep's impressive return, his childhood coach Kapil Pandey heaped praise on DC head coach and regular captain Rishabh Pant. “Ricky Ponting told him ‘I am going to play you all the matches. There is a reason Warnie (Shane Warne) likes you and I can see why. You are going to be our matchwinner’,” Pandey told The Indian Express.

The coach said that Pant, who did not play last season due to injury, considered his student a senior and assured him that he would be playing every match. “Rishabh told him ‘aapko acha karna hoga bhaiya, aapse bada bowler nahi hai India mein (you have to do well, there is no better bowler than you in India)’,” he said.

The confidence gained from the support of the IPL franchise helped him develop into a different bowler. The Uttar Pradesh-born star claimed 21 wickets in the IPL 2022 to impress the national team selectors.