New Delhi: India chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav has been having a whale time having tormented the Australian yet again with his deceptive deliveries, and this time in the recently concluded five-match-ODI series. Mesmerised by his career-graph, former Aussie cricketer Brad Hogg reckons that Kuldeep's accuracy is his biggest strength.
If one can turn back the clock to the month of March, this year. India skipper Virat Kohli made a surprising change to his bowling attack and had introduced young left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, in the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar series. The 22-year-old spun a havoc right after the lunch break in the first innings to outfox David Warner, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh and Pat Cummins. His efforts helped Team India win the decider at Dharamsala and thus wrap up the series in their favour.
Brad Hogg, who had played, or rather mentored the youngster for two long years during his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders, felt that Kuldeep could have been a strong weapon for India in their ICC Champions Trophy campaign. The Chinaman however didn't find his name on the 15-member squad for England, but made a ravishing comeback in the Windies tour, then Sri Lanka series and finally the Australia ODI series.
In fact, Steve Smith's men seemed a little to concerned about Kuldeep's deceptive deliveries ahead of the limited-overs series and thus turned to local boy KK Jiyas to help them out. But the mystery failed to be decoded as the chinaman continued to torment the Aussies bagging seven wickets in four matches.
"Everyone's career graph is different. We all go through different phases and he has got a great foundation. Now he has just to make sure he keeps his head on his shoulders, don't think too far ahead and keep working on his game," said Hogg.
But the Aussie also had a word of advice for Kuldeep. "He has just got to make sure he is reliable when the captain calls him to bowl. The best cricketers in the world are consistent and reliable, they do the job," reckons the 46-year-old as he added that Kuldeep's strength lies in his accuracy.
Kuldeep will next feature in the three-match T20I series against Australia that will start off from Saturday, October 7, in Ranchi.
