Kuldeep Yadav reveals his idol and picks the No. 1 batsman in the world

Kuldeep Yadav, who made his ODI debut in the rain-hit fixture against West Indies in the series opener has credited Shane Warne for his inputs and guidance. The veteran Australian leggie is a big fan of the Chinaman and was critical with his inputs which helped Yadav pick up figures of 4/68 on his Test debut against Australia earlier this year. Kuldeep’s first Test victim was David Warner, who was caught at slips by skipper Ajinkya Rahane on 56. Kuldeep recalls that he delivered a flipper and not an orthodox Chinaman, which was taught to him by his ‘guru’

However, following the Virat Kohli-Anil Kumble saga, it was revealed that Kuldeep’s selection in the fourth Test against Australia was the root cause for the rift between then head coach Anil Kumble and skipper Virat Kohli. While Kumble wanted Kuldeep, Kohli wasn’t too big on the left-arm Chinaman and wanted Karun Nair instead. Despite running into some bad luck, Kuldeep maintained his focus and performed impressively in the IPL 2017 for the KKR franchise. And though he missed the bus for Champions Trophy 2017, he made the Windies bound tour.

A huge Shane Warne fan

Speaking exclusively to Yahoo Cricket on his idol Shane Warne, Kuldeep said, “I became a huge Shane Warne fan and obviously talking to one’s idol is a great thing. Warne spoke to me about his bowling and my bowling and his inputs were of immense help.”

Kuldeep recalls his first ever Test wicket and said, “Learning from Warne and then using those tricks to get the Australian batsmen out was a great thing. The wicket of (David) Warner was not a Chinaman. It was a flipper which I learned from Warne. I did exactly what he told me to do. I have followed him since childhood.”

Concluding the interview, the Chinaman dubbed Virat Kohli as the numero uno batsman in the world and believes the skipper will be back to his form in no time, after an unsuccessful Champions Trophy campaign.