Who is Kuldeep Yadav? Kukdeep Yadav is a chinaman left arm bowler from Uttar Pradesh who has been selected for forthcoming west Indies series…
When the Indian team was announced for the first 3 ODIs starting on October 8 in Kochi by the selectors, many did not expect surprises in store.
Well, there was one when former U-19 spinner Kuldeep Yadav was drafted into the senior team by the selectors for the forthcoming ODI series.
Yadav who was plying trade in the CLT20 for the Kolkata Knight Riders, is born in Uttar Pradesh and also represents the state for the Ranji Trophy.
However, Kuldeep has yet to play a First-Class game or List-A game and throwing him without any senior level experience, is a pure gamble by the Indian selectors.
On the day of his selection, Yadav was in buoyant mood. Here what he said to the press, “”I was disheartened and completely broken when UP management didn’t find me good enough to play Ranji Trophy. My parents and childhood coach consoled me a lot at that time. I started working harder and today, I am in the Indian team.”
So who is Kuldeep Yadav anyways?
If any cricket lover had seen the U-19 Cricket World Cup earlier this year, Kuldeep was part of the team led by Kedhar Jadhav. Even though the team lost on the big stage, the likes of Sanju Samnson, Sarfaraz Khan emerged onto the cricketing scene. Kuldeep was one of the touring parties and the tournament began with a bang for the UP-born who scalped a hat-trick against the Scots and ended as the second-highest wicket-taker with 14 wickets.
But IPL champions KKR had already nabbed the young spinner 66,000 dollars at the IPL auction and now the former are reaping rewards. Kuldeep was earlier with the Mumbai Indians but stellar names like Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha ahead of him, the former had to move on.
The youngster has earned praises from all-rounds since his selection. If KKR captain Gautam Gambhir described Kuldeep as a “special talent”, current India Team Director Ravi Shastri also praised the youngster. He said, “When there is talent, when you have something different like with Kuldeep, something special and if the selectors believe that yes, this could be the guy, if nurtured properly, given the right guidance one year or two years down the line will be a match winner for me not just in India but in overseas conditions as well. I am prepared to take that gamble.”
Kuldeep is a chinaman bowler, a bowling breed that’s very rare in the world of cricket.
Only name that comes to mind resembling chinamen bowlers is that of Aussie leftie, Brad Hogg.
Kuldeep’s selection in team shows that the selectors are not lagging behind in giving a chance to the youngsters.
