IPL 2022 | 'He needs mental support, and he got that from Pant, Ponting' - Kuldeep Yadav's childhood coach

The ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League has been witnessing an improved and better version of Kuldeep Yadav as the Delhi Capitals spinner made a startling comeback to form in the IPL 2022 following a couple of underwhelming seasons.

Notably, Yadav had witnessed a huge slump in his form in the last few years, which saw him warming the benches on most occasions during his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders. The former national team management also didn’t show much faith in him as they benched him most of the time.

In 2019 and 2020 combined, Kuldeep managed to pick just five wickets in 14 IPL matches, while in 2021, he had a major knee surgery that ruled him out of the last IPL. However, the wrist-spinner has seen a remarkable turnaround in form after getting picked for Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2022.

Kuldeep, who opened IPL 2022 with numbers of 3/18 against the five-time champions Mumbai Indians and bettered it with 4/14 against his last franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, is currently second in the tally of the highest wicket-takers with 17 wickets in 9 matches. 

In an interview with Times of India, Kuldeep’s childhood coach Kapil Dev Pandey credited the DC mentor Ricky Ponting and captain Rishabh Pant for the chinaman’s spectacular run in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League. 

“Kuldeep needs mental support, and he got that from (Rishabh) Pant and (Ricky) Ponting. Ponting and Pant have asked Kuldeep to go and express himself in the middle, and Kuldeep is doing just that. Kuldeep has the full support of Ponting and Pant. When the captain and coach back you, what else do you need?” Pandey told Times Of India. 

Pandey further heaped high praises on current India captain Rohit Sharma and said that the India opener has played a crucial role in bringing Kuldeep back on the right path and ‘protected’ his career. 

The Chinaman returned to the Indian team after a gap of nearly seven months against the West Indies (ODI series) in February this year and was decent with the ball, picking two wickets. 

“He has a good record in Tests. He has two hat-tricks in ODIs. He has a good T20I record. But still, he didn’t get enough opportunities. This is shocking. Kuldeep’s career is protected because of Rohit Sharma. Rohit is the man behind Kuldeep’s resurgence. He is a fantastic captain, and he knows how to find talent in a big group of players. Ahead of the IPL, Rohit called Kuldeep and gave him the chance (against the West Indies). Kuldeep delivered too by taking two wickets,” Coach Pandey further added. 

“Rohit kept a close eye on Kuldeep, his Yo-Yo Test and rehab reports. Rohit was impressed with Kuldeep’s rehab programme. Rohit should be credited for Kuldeep’s comeback. He wouldn’t have been here today without the support of Rohit, Pant and Ponting.”

Pandey also added that Kuldeep played many games under former India captain Virat Kohli, but he picked Axar Patel ahead of Kuldeep due to his batting capabilities. 

“Every captain has their style of captaining and picking players. Kuldeep played a lot of cricket under Virat. Virat wants to experience on the side. He went with Ashwin and Jadeja. He preferred Axar ahead of Kuldeep because of Axar’s batting capabilities. A captain has to trust his players,” the coach concluded.