Kamal Ghorui
INDORE: As India’s hapless bowlers were taken to the cleaners by New Zealand’s centurions Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips on Sunday at the Holkar Stadium here, one man’s poor form emerged as the big worry with the Men In Blue set to defend their T20 World Cup title at home next month.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!From the point when Mitchell, enjoying supreme form, danced down the track to smash him for a superb straight six off the very first ball that he bowled, coming on the attack in the 17th over, Kuldeep Yadav looked short of confidence, just going through the motions rather than looking to stamp his class on the batters. Later, in the 41st over, Mitchell and Phillips tonked the Chinaman bowler for massive sixes down the ground. Struggling to control the Kiwis’ marauding duo in a ground with small dimensions, Kuldeep ended up with 1-48 in six overs.
This is the second match in a row that the 31-year-old, a class act when in rhythm, looked out of sorts in this series. In Rajkot, the Black Caps, with Mitchell scoring a century (131 not out) and Will Young notching up 85, plundered 82 runs in Kuldeep’s 10 overs. He did take Young’s wicket, but by then it was all over bar the shouting as India failed to defend 284.On the same pitch, India had found both the Kiwi spinners hard to get away earlier in the day. While debutant leftarm spinner Jaydon Lennox conceded 1-42 in 10 overs, NZ skipper Michael Bracewell gave away just 34 (for one wicket) in 10 overs. Of course, dew played its role, but Kuldeep is experienced to counter the conditions.
Poll
Should India consider resting Kuldeep Yadav before the T20 World Cup?
After he faced criticism for his poor show in the second ODI, Kuldeep’s former spin bowling colleague Yuzvandra Chahal, with whom the Uttar Pradesh bowler had formed a successful partnership from 2017-22, sprung up to the defence of his former India spin bowling colleague. “Kuldeep Yadav is no.1 SPINNER in whole WORLD#Champion #AnyFormat @imkuldeep18,” Chahal posted on X.Indeed, Kuldeep’s quality is beyond doubt. At his best, the Kanpur man can leave batters bamboozled and outfoxed by his tricks. However, the fact remains that presently, his shoddy form is a real concern for India with just about 20 days to go for the T20 World Cup. With ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah rested from the ODI series against the Kiwis, the hosts’ attack appeared even more toothless as Kuldeep, perhaps bowling too slow through the air, was taken to the cleaners by the marauding Black Caps batters. He signed off from the series — perhaps the worst of his ODI career — with just three wickets in three matches at 60.66, at an economy rate of 7.28.
For someone who is amongst the first few picks in all the three formats of the game, Kuldeep plays round the year. At the moment, the tweaker looks jaded, in need of a break, perhaps. The gone year was one of mixed fortunes for him. Despite many experts batting for his inclusion in the XI, Kuldeep didn’t get to play a single Test in the five-Test series in England.Bouncing back from that snub in style, he picked up 17 wickets in seven matches at 9.29 in the T20 Asia Cup in UAE that followed the England tour, finishing as the tournament’s high wicket-taker. In the final against Pakistan at Dubai, he took a decisive haul of four for 30 in four overs, causing a collapse that saw India’s arch-rivals slide from 113 for one in the 13th over to 146 all out in 19.1 overs.However, since then, Kuldeep’s returns have been a mixed bag. In the fifth T20I against Australia at the MCG, he conceded 2-45 in 3.2 overs, though India were defending only 125. This was followed by a 2-12 in two overs against South Africa Dharamshala, helping India wrap up a seven-wicket win.India would hope that the left-arm wrist spinner rediscovers his lost zing in the five-match T20I series that will start from Jan 21 in Nagpur.
