'He has shown remarkable consistency' - Wasim Jaffer lavishes praises on Kuldeep Yadav

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer praised left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav and noted that although he didn't have the best of years last year owing to a lack of opportunities, he has persevered and played consistently well in recent series. After the 2019 ODI World Cup, Kuldeep fell a little out of favour with the Indian side for a few years.

But he made a strong comeback in the IPL 2022 with his new team, Delhi Capitals, and paved his way into the Indian side again. Kuldeep has performed incredibly well in the last two series by getting wickets at frequent intervals in the middle overs, and Jaffer prophesied that the wrist spinners typically deliver incredible results when they bowl with a solid rhythm.

“It happens with wrist spinners. When their form is good, when the ball comes out of their hands well, they take wickets. He has proved in the last two series by taking big wickets and giving breakthroughs at critical stages. So, he has that potential. He wasn’t given the chance earlier. Since Axar Patel isn’t there, the management has given him a consistent run. He plays a match, gets dropped, returns, performs, and gets axed again. So, it’s not easy for any player,” Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.

I expect Kuldeep to get a chance against Australia as well: Jaffer

The 44-year-old noted that Kuldeep wasn’t given many chances in the recent past, before his comeback, but the spinner made the best use of every opportunity. Jaffer believes that if Kuldeep continues to put up consistent performances in the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand, he might as well find himself a place with the Indian side for the Australia Tests.

“But he has shown remarkable consistency and I won’t be surprised if he does well in this series. I expect him to get a chance against Australia as well,” said Jaffer.

Regarding the pace attack, Jaffer believes that after a lackluster performance against Sri Lanka, Arshdeep Singh would find his form in the New Zealand T20Is.

“All three bowlers played in the last T20I series and did well. Arshdeep Singh has been slightly out of form, but I am sure that the way he bowls, he will bounce back in this series. If he is not there, we might get an inexperienced bowling unit, given both Mavi and Malik haven’t played a lot of games,” Jaffer further stated.