There were some who suggested that Ravichandran Ashwin should be worried by the rise of Kuldeep Yadav after the wrist-spinner grabbed five wickets for 99 runs on day four of the final Test against Australia in Sydney — his first Test Down Under. As things stand, that is a long shot given Ashwin’s recent record in Test cricket, with ball and with bat.
But given how injury has sidelined the experienced off-spinner at important times recently, India have done well to give Kuldeep the perfect apprenticeship possible.
On Saturday (day three of the Sydney Test), the 24-year-old Kuldeep had spoken of the manner in which Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja push him in the nets. The words spoke volumes of the mutual respect that exists between the three spinners. They want to play, yes. But they also recognise the quality that the other spinners in the squad possess.
As things stand, Jadeja has overtaken Ashwin in the ICC Test Bowler rankings. The left-arm spinner is now ranked sixth, two spots aheads of Ashwin.
“When you know you have Ashwin and Jadeja in the squad and you are the third (spinner), there is a lot to get (motivated by) them. They are the ones who keep pushing me in the nets - ‘you have to bowl this way and in certain areas’. It is important to learn from them. They have played enough cricket and I am still learning,” Kuldeep had said.
Battle for places
Kuldeep recognises that bowling in the short formats and Test cricket are two very different skills, which essentially leads to the motivation to improve.
His improvement was on display during days three and four of the Sydney Test. When one has a googly as good as Kuldeep’s, there can be a tendency to get carried away with too many variations. Those variations serve a bowler very well in the shorter formats when the batsmen are looking to go after the bowling. But in Test cricket, consistency is the name of the game.
Kuldeep kept a steady pace in Sydney. His stock delivery was bowled at around 77-78 kph. Not as quick as Jadeja or Ashwin or Lyon. But he kept things at a pace he felt he would be able to extract the most turn from the wicket. The googly was the surprise weapon and it was used skillfully.
“Kuldeep is a skillful bowler. He has had a very successful stint in one-day matches and he is probably the number one bowler in one day format,” said bowling coach Bharat Arun in the press conference at close of play on Sunday.
“Also the fact that we understood that he is blessed with a lot of skills, he is unique in the sense that there are very few [left arm wrist spin] bowlers around the world and can bring the googly in the fold. What makes him even more special is his ability to use the crease. He can bowl from over and round the wicket. He can bowl closer to the wicket and also from wide of the crease. So that gives him a lot more variety and I think there is a lot to come from the kid,” Arun added.
The bowling coach also gave a big hint as to how the team views Kuldeep for the Test format.
“He is young, he will learn. He didn’t have a great outing in England but this Test match will give him a lot of confidence and considering a spinner at his age, he has got a lot of cricket in him,” said Arun.
If anything, the presence of three top-quality spinners showcases the depth of the Indian spin bowling department. Remember how Harbhajan Singh was recalled back into the Test squad in 2015 because Bangladesh had too many left-handers? This was despite Harbhajan playing just 3 Ranji matches and taking 6 wickets preceeding that. Rest assured, that won’t be happening again.
India had already decided they wanted to play two spinners at Sydney and the initial thought was to go with Ashwin and Jadeja. But then Ashwin was ruled out because of his injury and Kuldeep stepped in. In fact, he did more than just step in. He made enough of an impact to have many consider him to be a contender for a spot in the regular playing XI.
That may not happen right away but Kuldeep’s fifer also puts pressure on Ashwin and Jadeja to keep producing the goods. They may be mentors for now but only the best can play and if they slip-up, Kuldeep is ready to pounce.