Former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja lavished praise on Kuldeep Yadav after his match-winning spell against the UAE in the ongoing Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Wednesday. Yadav returned with figures of 4-7 in 2.1 overs he bowled against the hosts.
Yadav accounted for UAE captain Muhammad Wasim, Rahul Chopra, Harshit Kaushik, and Haider Ali. Thus, Kuldeep played a key role in skittling UAE at 57 and was awarded Player of the Match. Jadeja reckons the wrist spinner could have bagged a six-wicket haul if he was given four consecutive overs by Suryakumar Yadav.
“Forget the syllabus, he is not even in the book. The four wickets he took, it was an injustice to him. Forget the five matches you didn’t play him (in the Test series against England), I am talking light-heartedly, as people might take it seriously, when he had picked up two wickets in his first two overs, Shivam Dube was brought in to bowl, and he was removed, that he is fit (in the team),” Ajay Jadeja said on Sony Sports.
Jadeja added Kuldeep could have picked more wickets if he had not been removed from the attack.
“Others were being tried. When he was brought back, he again picked up two wickets in two or three balls. If he had bowled four consecutive overs, he might have picked up six wickets instead of four,” Jadeja observed.
The former Indian captain continued to shower praise on Kuldeep, stating he is a special player.
“There is no doubt that he is a special player. The skill of left-arm wrist spin is extremely rare, and along with that, the thing he has in his hand. Earlier, the speed wasn’t this much. Now, he is releasing the ball very well. So it was a matter of time,” he said.
Jadeja said UAE batters were not able to pick Kuldeep Yadav and added the wrist spinner is going to hold the key against Pakistan.
“It was very difficult for these batters to pick which way the ball would go. They were playing on hope as to where the ball would go. You see his class even against good players many times, and his role will be as important in the Pakistan match, and he might be effective there also, although it won’t be as much as he was against the UAE,” Jadeja observed.
India will next take on arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday.
