Kuldeep Yadav would have been happy had the pitches he bowls on been as uneven as his career. The Kanpur-born left-arm wrist spinner went from being the future of Indian spin with Kul-Cha partner, leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, to being dropped from the Indian team and benched by his IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders, for most of a season. Now, weeks before the ODI World Cup at home, he could well be India’s first-choice spinner, given his form. He is India’s leading wicket taker in ODIs this year—31 wickets—and has become the fastest Indian spinner to get 150 ODI wickets.
Yadav might be a “mystery” bowler, but there is no mystery behind the fact that he thrives when he knows that his captain and coach back him completely. That backing was missing, surprisingly at times, under the leadership of Virat Kohli and the then team management. “I always believed I had the talent and skill, [but I was not] mentally strong,” he said a few months ago. “That affected my skills [and] kept [me] under pressure; [there were] negative thoughts.”
Having started his career in 2017, Yadav was quick off the blocks in the shorter formats, especially in ODIs, and became the fastest Indian spinner to 100 ODI wickets in 2019. However, that year was a disappointment on the whole. He had a bad IPL season, in which he picked only four wickets in nine matches. He then had an average outing in the ODI World Cup in England, and slowly went off the boil, culminating in two horrid IPL seasons—in the 2020 edition, he got only five games and just a solitary wicket; he did not get a match in the 2021 season and also picked up a knee injury, which kept him out for seven months.
Denne historien er fra September 24, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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Denne historien er fra September 24, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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A golden girl
One of India's most formidable beauties passed away earlier this month. The odd thing is she would absolutely hate this obituary; she hated being written about and avoided publicity for all of her nine decades. Indira Aswani was 93 when she died. But anyone who encountered her, even briefly, was in such awe of her grace and poise, and one could not but remember her forever.
The interest in wine is growing delightfully in India
The renowned British wine writer and television presenter Jancis Robinson, 74, recently came to Delhi and Mumbai to reacquaint herself with India's wine industry. This was the Robinson's fourth visit to India; the last one was seven years ago. On this trip, Robinson and her husband, restaurateur Nicholas Lander, were hosted by the Taj Hotels and Sonal Holland, India's only Master of Wine.
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COVER DRIVE
Usage-driven motor insurance policies offer several benefits
GDP as the only measure of progress is illogical
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India is not a controlling big brother
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Comrade with no foes
Lal Salaam, Comrade Yechury-you were quite a guy!
Pinning down saffron
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MAKE IN MANIPUR
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SAHEB LOSES STEAM
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