Rohit Sharma seemingly used to sit next to Ravindra Jadeja on the team bus, but chainman Kuldeep Yadav has taken up the spot after Rohit’s retirement.
As India gears up for their five-match Test series in England, spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been spending a lot of time with Ravindra Jadeja, both on and off the field. Kuldeep said he’s been learning a lot from Jadeja, picking his brain and trying to improve his own game. The chinaman, part of India’s 18-man squad, has gotten closer to Jadeja after taking over Rohit Sharma’s vacant seat on the team bus next to Jadeja. Rohit retired from the longest format of the game recently, and seemingly Kuldeep has taken his spot.
Kuldeep also mentioned that during team travel, he now sits next to Jadeja on the bus, a seat previously taken by Rohit Sharma, who has retired from Test cricket. Laughing about the change, he seemed happy to be learning from Jadeja’s experience.
“I can never take Rohit bhai’s place,” he said.
“Playing alongside Jadeja is such a great honour for me,” Kuldeep said.
“Obviously, Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin have been brilliant over the last few years. When I made my debut in India, they helped me a lot. And even now, we have been having a lot of chat about how to bowl to certain batters, given the way the England batters are batting at the moment,” he added.
“I’m actually spending a lot of time with him, not only on the field, but also outside as well. So it has actually helped me a lot in terms of tactics and the field placements, and he has given some tips as well,” he noted.
“It’s just that I’m spending a lot of time with Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) bhai. It’s obviously very important for me as a spinner, because Ash bhai (Ashwin, also retired) isn’t there, and I’ve learned a lot from Ash bhai, and now that he isn’t there, (I’m looking to learn from) whichever senior player is there,” Kuldeep added.
Kuldeep has only played one Test in England before, at Lord’s in 2018, where he gave away 44 runs in nine overs without taking a wicket but since then, he has developed into a much stronger and more effective bowler. Now, he has 56 wickets in 13 Tests, with an impressive average of 22.16 and a strike rate of 37.3 — the best for any spinner in Test history with at least 50 wickets.
Jadeja is expected to be India’s main spinner on this tour due to his all-round skills, but if conditions allow for two spinners, Kuldeep could get a chance. He played a key role in India’s 4-1 Test series win over England at home earlier this year, taking 19 wickets in four matches at an average of 20.15.
