Sometimes I miss MS Dhoni’s guidance from behind the wicket: Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav, the Indian cricketer, stated that he misses MS Dhoni’s guidance from behind the wickets. The duo last played together in the 2019 World Cup after which 39-year-old Dhoni retired from international cricket. Ever since then, India have mostly had Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson and KL Rahul as the wicketkeepers.

In 2017 itself, both Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal flourished in the limited-overs formats. Quite often, Dhoni was also seen guiding them with advice on a constant basis. However, after Dhoni quit playing for India, Kuldeep has had to strain to keep his spot in the national team.

I played only a handful of games after Mahibhai left: Kuldeep Yadav

“Sometimes I miss that guidance because he (Mahi) has a great experience. He used to guide us behind the wicket, kept screaming! We miss his experience. Rishabh is there now, the more he plays, the more input he will give in the future. I always felt every bowler needs a partner who can respond from the other end,” Kuldeep told The Indian Express.

“When Mahibhai was there, I and Chahal were playing. Ever since Mahi bhai left, Chahal and I haven’t played together. I played only a handful of games after Mahibhai left. I must have played ten-odd games. I had even taken a hat-trick.

“If you look at the performance as a whole, it will look pretty decent but if one breaks it up then my performance sometimes can look not up to the mark. One has to also look at the opposition we are playing against,” he added.

Kuldeep hasn’t had the best of times of late. In the 2021 Indian Premier League, he didn’t get to play a single match for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Recently, he also said how dejected he was after he didn’t get a chance to play in Chennai, especially on pitches helpful for the spinners.

In the last 12 months, Kuldeep hasn’t tasted much success even for Team India. In February, he made his comeback to Test cricket after a gap of two years. He also couldn’t get a wicket against England in two ODIs. Moreover, he hasn’t played T20Is since January 2020.