He has scalped seven wickets in two Asia Cup 2025 matches.
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav is enjoying a great run of form in the ongoing ACC Asia Cup 2025. The bowler had warmed the bench throughout the recent five-Test tour of England, waiting for a chance to prove his abilities. However, though he did not feature in a single fixture of the red-ball series, the 30-year-old showcased his brilliance as soon as he picked up the ball in the T20 tournament.
After his back-to-back match-winning spells, former assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has opened up on how the bowler battled through tough times and a lean patch of form to once again get back to his best.
The ex-assistant coach of India, who also worked with Kuldeep during his five-year stint with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), spoke about how he had worked hard to make a strong comeback after the knee injury that he suffered in 2021.
“He used to bowl on sand where the ball stops. He bowled with speed to gain more bite and also changed his run-up, the angle with which he ran to made it straight. Also, he jumped a bit too much before, which has changed, allowing him to transfer a lot more momentum,” he said on a Sony Sports show.
Abhishek revealed that the spinner had practiced to bowl on sand and also brought in a change in his run-up to increase the efficiency. He also shared how Kuldeep managed to regain his form with the help of his childhood coach.
“Kuldeep has worked a lot on his bowling when he was going through a difficult time. But when you have a coach, who you know from the beginning, it is easier. He helped Kuldeep and whatever you are seeing is the result of his hard work,” stressed Abhishek.
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The wrist-spinner started off his Asia Cup 2025 campaign with the stunning figures of 4/7 in just 2.1 overs against the hosts, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Kuldeep backed this up with another fierce outing against the arch-rivals Pakistan to bag a three-wicket haul at an impressive economy of just 4.50.
These spectacular performances earned him two consecutive Player of the Match accolades in the multi-national league. With this, he also became only the second player in Asia Cup history to receive back-to-back POTM laurels, after former India captain Virat Kohli. The 36-year-old, who is not featuring in the tournament following his T20I retirement after the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, had achieved the feat first in the Asia Cup 2016 with his 49 and 56* against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, respectively.
However, the Men in Blue have already sealed a place in the Super Fours after two dominating victories in the league so far. India will play their final group-stage fixture against Oman in Abu Dhabi on September 19.
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