Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav thanks skipper Virat Kohli for supporting him

When it comes to spinners, Kuldeep Yadav is one of a kind. It was a few years back in the Champions League T20 when the young left-arm chinaman spinner announced his arrival while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders. Since then, there has not been any looking back for the youngster. After delivering spectacular performances in the Indian Premier League, the player was awarded the precious Indian Test team’s white jersey.

It was the last match of the Test series against Australia. Skipper Virat Kohli was injured and was not able to make it to the team in the title decider. But who would have known that it is a boon in disguise, both the Indian cricket enthusiasts and Kuldeep Yadav? The spinner pulled off a brilliant performance under pressure, which led the Aussies to rethink whether the lad was playing his first game or not.

With Ravindra Jadeja not being allowed to play the third Test, Yadav can get a chance in the team for the Pallekele Test against Sri Lanka. Before the game, Kuldeep acknowledged his skipper Virat Kohli for having faith in him. “If the captain believes in you, then you have done half your work. Captain’s belief is very important, and Virat bhai supports me a lot. He supported me completely in West Indies, and the way he talks to the players on the ground, the way he spoke to me in the ODIs, it felt very nice because the captain’s confidence is the biggest thing for a player,” said Yadav while speaking to ESPNcricinfo.

Kuldeep on how his life has changed after his debut

The 22-year old from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh said that after his debut, many young talents are trying to imitate him. “I think there are a lot of chinaman bowlers around now. When I started out, there were hardly any. You go to any cricket academy, and there are eight-ten chinaman bowlers practising. People have started bowling like this. That’s one thing that has surely changed after my debut, and I think we will see more of such spinners in the future in not only state and Ranji level, but also, hopefully, at international level. It is a happy feeling that people have recognised this skill,” said Kuldeep.

He also opened up on bringing a smile on his parents’ face by saying “If you are playing Test cricket and playing for India, life definitely changes. There is no more proud feeling than this that you can give to your family. I feel really proud to represent India, feel happy that the hard work from childhood has paid off.