Kuldeep Yadav has been in ‘terrific form’ since he resumed training, asserts coach Kapil Pandey

Seasoned spinner Kuldeep Yadav last appeared for India in the 1st ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton and had bowling figures of 2/84. He wasn’t selected for the rest of the series after which the coronavirus-induced pandemic took over. As the lockdown restrictions eased down in the second week of June, Kuldeep resumed his training at the Rovers club in Kanpur. He started off with spending 4 hours daily in his training.

Kapil Pandey, who is a coach at the Rovers cricket club confirmed that the Chinaman is in “terrific form” currently. The coach also stressed that cricket had to resume amidst Covid-19 scare. 

“He’s in terrific form. He took seven wickets in a practice match recently. He’s played four-five one-day practice games, and now I’ll play him in a four-day game. I’m making him bowl 20 overs in a day in practice,” Pandey told TOI. 

“We’ve the best club team in Kanpur. Many of our players play for Uttar Pradesh’s under-23 and under-19 team and one (Faiz Ahmed) plays for Railways in the Ranji Trophy. They divide themselves amongst two teams and play practice games. How long will we be scared of Covid? We have to beat it,” he added.

Besides the spinner, according to Pandey, Kings XI Punjab batsman Sarfaraz Khan also resumed training at Kuldeep’s academy in Kanpur recently. 

“They came to practice here 8-10 days back. They practiced for 4-5 days. Sarfaraz and his brother Musheer Khan batted against Kuldeep and other bowlers at our academy. For Musheer especially it was good practice because a left-hander generally finds it tough to face a chinaman bowler. Both the brothers are highly talented God willing, should go on to play for India. It was nice to get a chance to teach them something and motivate them,” Kuldeep’s coach Kapil Pandey told TOI.