Coach Kapil Pandey of left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav praised head coach Rahul Dravid as well as senior players Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma for encouraging Yadav to change his luck. The 28-year-old experienced a setback in 2017 when he sustained a knee injury at the IPL and needed surgery in September. The spinner sustained a hairline fracture in his wrist in addition to his knee ailment, sidelining him for a significant portion of the year. Although he was determined to make a stronger comeback and had the support of the team’s older players and head coach, the time away from the game allowed him to work on his rhythm at the NCA.
“When he was injured and was at the NCA, Rohit Sharma supported him and naturally, Dravid has also offered the same support. So, the captain, coach, and even the senior players like Virat Kohli have a huge role in backing him and helping him make a comeback,” Kapil was quoted as saying by India Today (h/t Sportskeeda). It seemed like Kuldeep will be kept off the national team when he was denied a single play in the IPL 2021. However, his coach went on to say that it was his perseverance and efforts that ultimately paid off to make a successful return.
“Kuldeep has worked really hard for his comeback. We have worked together on his pace and he continued to put in the effort whether or not he was in the team. His efforts bore fruit as he got picked for Delhi in the IPL and then he picked up 21 wickets. Kuldeep has never given up and found a way to make a comeback after the injury. We prepared in such a way that he was ready to play all three formats for India,” he added. Kuldeep enjoyed a fantastic return in India’s victory against Bangladesh in the first Test match by taking eight wickets in both innings and contributing a crucial 40-run knock. With the ODI World Cup coming up, he will want to secure his berth in the team.
