How Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper Gautam Gambhir backed chinaman Kuldeep Yadav
New Delhi: Kuldeep Yadav has come a long way to become India’s new spin sensation. For past one month, Yadav has delivered some good performances for Team India to justify his selection in the side. The left arm Chinaman first had Sri Lankan batsman struggling against him and now he has put the visiting Australian side in spot of bother with his bowling.
The 22-year-old struggled a lot in his initial days, He was a part of Indian Premier League side Mumbai Indians, but was restricted to the bench. After failing to break into Mumbai Indians team, he was picked up by another IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders captained by Gautam Gambhir and under his guidance; the youngster became their go-to spinner along with West Indian Sunil Naraine.
The youngster has thanked KKR Skipper for the backing he gave him during his initial days. Speaking to CricketNext during this year’s IPL, the youngster revealed that he shall forever remain grateful to Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir for backing him when he was a raw product waiting to be nurtured.
“I shall always be grateful to Gauti bhai (Gambhir) for backing me when I was a nobody. He backed me when no one knew me. It has been a great ride under him and with my KKR teammates. I always wanted to play for India across all formats, but to channelize that desire I needed the guidance of someone like him,” Kuldeep had revealed.
Apart from Gambhir, India skipper Virat Kohli too backed the youngster when he made his debut against Australia in the Dharmasala.Kohli who missed the match due to injury was seen constantly talking to Kuldeep at the boundary.
“He kept speaking to me and calming me down. I was desperate to play for the country and often you lose the plot and get overawed by the situation. After all, it was a dream I was realizing.
But Virat bhai kept asking me to enjoy the moment and not think too much about the situation. He kept asking me to focus on my strengths and bowl in the right areas. It was a good feeling to have him egg you on from the sidelines,” the spinner said.
