“Felt That I Could Play”: Kuldeep Yadav Recalls India's Tour Of England

Shreyasi

Kuldeep Yadav shines in Asia Cup for India [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X.com]Kuldeep Yadav shines in Asia Cup for India [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X.com]

Kuldeep Yadav’s performance in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 sparked fresh debates on his exclusion from the playing eleven during the entire England tour. Finally, India's left-arm leggie spoke about the same ahead of IND vs OMN and called the tour “challenging”.

When Gambhir and Gill went ahead in England tour without Kuldeep

Kuldeep Yadav warmed the bench for the entirety of the England tour that saw India levelling the 5-match Test series 2-2. It raised a few eyebrows; fans and experts kept questioning the decision of team management. However, Shubman Gill-led Indian cricket team decided to have batting depth in the squad and prefer bowlers who could bat a bit. Kuldeep finally revealed what happened in England and why he was not chosen by the management.

"Gauti was very straightforward. Sometimes, I felt that I could play, but as you know, because of the batting depth, I couldn't. But it was nothing about skill or batting. I couldn't make a place because of the conditions or the combination."

According to India's finest performer in the Asia Cup so far, he could not play because the management wanted batting depth in the team. In a press-conference ahead of India's next Asia Cup counter against Oman, Kuldeep remarked,

"You should always work on batting. But it is just that bowling is my strength. If I play in any team, I will play as a bowler. My job is to take wickets. If I don't take wickets, there will be no space.”

Working hard in the key, says the leg-spinner

Kuldeep Yadav who did not play for India between the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup is currently in the form of his life. After winning two back-to-back Player of the Match award, he is set for the clash ahead with Oman. While speaking of the lost time, the leg-spinner recalled, 

"It was a very good time for me to work on myself, to improve my fitness and to give more volume to bowling because it is very important. I learned a lot. As a player, you learn a lot when you don't play. When the team reacts to situations, you can judge from the outside. You have a lot of ideas about what you would do, how you'd react if you were in this situation. I got a lot of ideas from there. After that, I played the Duleep Trophy match. I was wicketless. I bowled 35 overs. My rhythm was set there and it was very important for me to bowl there.”

"There are two ways. The player chooses which way he wants to go. But it is very important that you keep working hard, don't leave anything, always keep playing. The game of cricket, it always shows you good days and bad days. But if you don't play, you have time to work on yourself and become a better player when you get a chance.”

Although the return has not been easy, Kuldeep is ready to face the challenges. He understands that it is easy to blame someone than working on one’s weaknesses. After claiming seven wickets against the United Aram Emirates (UAE), Kuldeep registered a 4-wicket haul against arch-rivals Pakistan. Now he is ready to take on Oman today in the Asia Cup in Abu Dhabi.