Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has lavished praise on Kuldeep Yadav after India won the third ODI against South Africa by nine wickets at Vizag on Saturday. Yadav returned with impressive figures of 4-41 in his quota of 10 overs as he bowled at the top of his game.
The wrist spinner bagged his 11th four-wicket haul in ODIs and breathed down the neck of the Proteas batters. Yadav dismissed Dewald Brevis and Marco Jansen in the 39th over to put India in front.
Furthermore, he accounted for Corbin Bosh and Lungi Ngidi in his fine spell. Chopra said Yadav is not getting the credit he deserves at the top level.
“Whether you believe it or not, Kuldeep Yadav is the No. 1 spinner in the world across three formats. However, if you think attentively, you would say what I am saying is right. Firstly, very few spinners play all three formats. Someone is a white-ball spinner and someone is a red-ball spinner,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Very few quality spinners are seen these days in any case, but Kuldeep Yadav is there. The way we celebrate Bumrah, we say there is no one like Jassi, he (Kuldeep) is also a generational talent. Why do we take him so lightly? Why aren’t we giving him the credit he deserves? Think about it, guys. He is seriously talented,” he added.
The renowned commentator highlighted that India mostly wins the match when Kuldeep Yadav picks up wickets.
“He is quality and does well in all three formats. When he played against the West Indies in Delhi, he became the Player of the Match. He picked up four wickets twice in this series. He was absolutely stellar. If you leave aside the second match, where he didn’t pick up wickets, and you couldn’t win the match, but when he picks up wickets, you definitely win the match,” he said.
Yadav had also bagged 17 wickets in the Asia Cup and had played an instrumental role in taking India to glory.
“If we talk about T20 cricket, with 17 wickets, he was the highest wicket-taker in the Asia Cup. He is stellar in all three formats, and I do feel that we don’t appreciate, acknowledge, and celebrate him properly. It is our mistake,” Chopra observed.
Yadav will be next seen in action in the T20I series against South Africa, starting Tuesday.
