"Can't wait to join my teammates" - Kuldeep Yadav heads to West Indies for T20I series

Team India left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav is heading to the West Indies for the T20I series, which will begin towards the end of the month. The Men in Blue will play five games against the Caribbean side from July 29 to August 7.

The 27-year-old was not picked for the ongoing one-dayers, but was named in the squad for the T20I series against West Indies. While announcing the squad earlier this month, the BCCI had stated that the inclusion of Kuldeep is subject to fitness.

Taking to his official Instagram handle on Sunday (July 24), Kuldeep shared an image of himself heading to the West Indies for the T20Is. He posted the picture with the caption:

"See you soon Caribbean🏝Can't wait to join my teammates and get going 🇮🇳✈️."

A number of fans replied to the post, wishing him the best of luck for the series against the West Indies.

The spinner had sustained an injury to his right hand while batting in the nets last month. As a result, he missed the entire five-match T20I series against South Africa at home and headed to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for his rehabilitation.

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Kuldeep Yadav cleared fitness test a few days back: Report

While KL Rahul, whose inclusion for the series against West Indies was also subject to fitness, tested positive for COVID-19, Kuldeep managed to clear the fitness test recently.

According to reports, the spinner checked out of the NCA after reaching the mandatory fitness level. A BCCI official was quoted as saying by InsideSport:

"He is close to match-fitness. But we don't want to rush his return considering he had surgery. There will be a fitness test at NCA on July 24 and if he clears that, he will board the flight to Trinidad. Kuldeep is fine. He has checked out of NCA. He cleared the fitness test."

The cricketer was in excellent form for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2022. In 14 matches, he claimed 21 wickets at an average of 19.95 and an economy rate of 8.44.