Kuldeep Yadav will have to deal with all the expectations, reveals Zaheer Khan

Kuldeep Yadav cemented his place in the Indian limited-overs team after his dazzling display in the South Africa series earlier this year. Yadav earned rave reviews as he along with Yuzvendra Chahal notched up 33 wickets across five ODIs and handed India a historic series win in the African continent. And former Indian fast-bowler Zaheer Khan revealed that Yadav had to live up to expectations of critics and the Indian selectors after he was included in the Test squad for the upcoming series.

“Yes, if conditions are hot, it may be difficult for fast bowlers but then you always have the option to play two specialist spinners. If the conditions remain like that, they (Indian team management) might be tempted to play two spinners.

“Why shouldn’t there be expectations? The expectations have grown since he has done well at the international level. When you do well, it is bound to happen and he will have to handle that,” Khan said in an interview to PTI.

The former Indian pacer added that the South Africa series was an indicator that Virat Kohli’s men are in the right direction as far as the Test was concerned. Khan added that the energy oozing out from the Indian team gave him high hopes for the upcoming series, especially after the bitter disappointment of 2014, which is still fresh in the minds of the Indians.

“Everyone is saying that this will be the ‘Indian Summer’ in UK. I am also expecting India to dominate. But we have to keep in mind that this is a five-Test series. Five-Test series can be very challenging. You need to show a lot of consistency. But what gives me hope is the manner in which they played in South Africa. Yes, they lost the Test series (1-2) but the way the fought back in the final Test was impressive. The energy and approach they showed gives me a lot of hope,” he said.