With Axar Patel ruled out, time is ripe for India to pick Kuldeep Yadav for England series

One man’s gain is another man’s loss. Karun Nair’s hard work, temperament and talent have played a huge role in his recent success against England, but an injury to Ajinkya Rahane mid-series also played a small part in his success. If Rahane hadn’t been injured, Karun wouldn’t have got a chance to showcase his talent and become only the second player after Virender Sehwag to score a triple century in Tests for India.

If Axar Patel hadn’t been injured, he would have been an automatic choice for the upcoming ODI series against England. An injury to Patel is a chance for the selectors to provide an opportunity to the talented Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep Yadav is in good form

Chinaman bowling is an art rarely seen in cricket and India is blessed to have Kuldeep Yadav in their ranks who practices this style of bowling. Kuldeep’s lack of wickets at the domestic level has been the only reason behind the selectors not picking him for the national team but the scenario has changed this year.

He has now added guile and consistency to his existing armoury of left-arm Chinaman, wrong one and flipper. His renewed arsenal has made him a much more potent bowler and his returns in this year’s Ranji Trophy are a testimony to this fact.

Kuldeep played 8 matches for Uttar Pradesh in this year’s Ranji Trophy and picked up 35 wickets at an impressive average of 27.42. He was the leading wicket-taker for UP this season and it is a sign that he has improved a lot this year.

Kuldeep is also a handy lower order batsman. He has scored 718 runs at a decent average of 29.91 in 21 first class games. His unique style of bowling combined with his handy batting can be a lethal combination against any international side and the upcoming ODI series against England can be the right time to unleash him at the highest level.

Anil Kumble will help him develop

Anil Kumble is without a doubt one of the best bowlers to have played the game. He is the leading wicket-taker for India in Tests with a tally of 619 wickets and holds a special place in Indian cricketing history. He is presently the coach of the Indian team across formats and can be a great learning source for upcoming players like Kuldeep.

Adil Rashid looked a much-improved bowler under Saqlain Mushtaq’s guidance in the recently concluded Test series against India and Kumble can have the same impact on Kuldeep’s bowling.

Kuldeep is a future star for India

Kumble practised the art of leg spin which is as tough to master as the Chinaman and thus he can better understand the issues with Kuldeep’s bowling. It would be great for the youngster if he is given a chance to play at the highest level at this time, as he can learn from someone who has experienced the rigours of international cricket for a long time.

Great future prospect for India

Spinners are like fine wine, they only get better with age. When Ravichandran Ashwin first burst onto the international scene, he resembled a magician with all the tricks in his bag, but completely unaware of how to enchant the audience with them. He would invariably bowl a good ball and then follow it up with a loose ball in an attempt to showcase his variations. As he became more experienced, the off break became his main weapon and the results improved for the better.

Selectors backed Ashwin during his formative years in international cricket mainly because of his potential. They had the belief that with experience, he would become more consistent and eventually become a lethal bowler.

Kuldeep is another young bowler with a lot of potential, who can develop into a match winner for India in the future. The pressure and requirements of international cricket transformed Ashwin to a better cricketer and the same thing can happen with Kuldeep as well.

When India won the Under 19 World Cup under Unmukt Chand’s captaincy in 2012, a couple of players stood out from the rest due to their raw talent. One of them was the captain himself Unmukt Chand and the other was a wily left-arm spinner, Harmeet Singh. Harmeet was rated extremely highly by the likes of Ian Chappell but till now has managed to play only 14 first class games.

Sometimes players with a lot of talent can struggle to keep themselves motivated at the domestic level and can eventually lose the spark they initially possessed. It is in the best interest of Indian cricket to give Kuldeep Yadav a chance at the highest level now so that he is not lost to the system like many other talented players.

He is a rarity in cricket and should only get better with age, albeit with the right guidance and adequate amount of chances at the highest level.