Kuldeep Yadav was part of the Indian team that won the 2024 T20 World Cup title and made a huge impact in the tournament. He picked up 10 wickets in the tournament and played only in the West Indies leg of the tournament.
His performances helped him play every match since the Super 8 and keep players like Yuzvendra Chahal on the bench. In the final against South Africa, he did not get a wicket, but he got wickets in all the matches leading up to the final.
Kuldeep was named in the starting XI for the first Super 8 match against Afghanistan, where he took two wickets. He took three against Bangladesh, two against Australia and three in the semi-final against England.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Kuldeep Yadav spoke about playing under different captains. He made his international debut under MS Dhoni and has seen the transition from the captaincy position under Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Also read: ‘Rohit Sharma loves me’: Kuldeep Yadav gives all the credit to India captain for his success
Kuldeep Yadav talks about Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit’s captaincy styles
#T20ChampionExclusive | “There was desperation to win the World Cup”: Kuldeep Yadav (@imkuldeep18) to NDTV@Vimalsports, report by @cheerica pic.twitter.com/5pzXPhBcsp
— NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2024
Speaking about Dhoni and Rohit’s captaincy, Kuldeep said, “All of them had different times, all of them got the opportunity to lead the team in their own way and they have been very successful in that,” Kuldeep said.
On MS Dhoni’s captaincy, he said, “Given the opportunity to lead India, MS Dhoni has enabled India to win three ICC titles.”
Talking about the future, Kuldeep Yadav also kept his thoughts on Rohit Sharma’s captaincy: “Rohit bhai has also led the team beautifully. When he got the opportunity, he won a title for India. He even won titles in the IPL as well. He led India to the final of the WTC 2023, the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 and finally won the T20 World Cup.”
To close the question, he said: “They have all managed the team excellently. There can be no comparisons. Because whoever has the opportunity to manage his team plays for the country and concentrates and concentrates on winning games for the team.”
Kuldeep Yadav has been working really hard on his game for the last four to five years. He was a regular in the team between 2017 and 2019. He then lost his place in the team between 2020 and 2022. By his own admission, he worked on his run variation and speed to get back into the team.
He has blossomed as a bowler under the guidance of Rohit Sharma and has been the go-to bowler in his captaincy. Rohit’s use of Kuldep throughout the IPL is a great sign of the confidence he has in his abilities. He did not keep him in the starting XI for the matches in New York. However, as soon as India started playing in the Caribbean, Rohit used him as his trump card and repaid the faith with 10 wickets in the tournament.
Also read: ‘Rohit Sharma loves me’: Kuldeep Yadav gives all the credit to India captain for his success
