"Kept thinking about what I could have done different" - Kuldeep Yadav opens up on India's 2023 World Cup final loss

Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav opened up on how hard it was for him to get past the heartbreaking 2023 World Cup final defeat against Australia.

India were heavy favorites to win their third ODI World Cup title and played like it throughout the tournament. Led by Rohit Sharma, the side dominantly won all nine league-stage games and the semi-final against New Zealand.

However, their dream run ended when Australia upstaged them in the grand finale by six wickets to be crowned World Champions for a record sixth time.

Speaking to reporters after the T20I series against South Africa, Kuldeep admitted the hardships he faced from moving on from the World Cup final.

"First week or ten days after the final was the most difficult. It was not easy to get that thought away from my mind. Whenever I was waking up, the thought of losing the World Cup final was haunting me. I keep thinking about what I could have done different. Cricket is very unpredictable, most of the time you don’t get the desired result. You learn and move forward," said Kuldeep.

Despite going wicketless in the summit clash, Kuldeep performed impressively during the World Cup. The 29-year-old picked up 15 wickets in 11 games at an average of 28.26 and an economy of less than 4.50.

Kuldeep was also part of the Indian squad during their semi-final defeat to New Zealand in the 2019 ODI World Cup.

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"I just wanted the team to win which is more important" - Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep enjoyed a field day against the South African batters in the final T20I.

Cut to the present, and Kuldeep Yadav is back amongst the wickets, picking up a second T20I fifer in the series finale against South Africa at Johanessburg.

Trailing 0-1 and in a must-win situation to salvage a series stalemate, the 29-year-old produced a spell of 5/17 in 2.5 overs to help India complete a 106-run victory.

Incidentally, it was also Kuldeep's 29th birthday and the star spinner celebrated it by becoming the second Indian bowler after Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the first Indian spinner to take multiple five-wicket hauls in T20Is.

"It turned out to be a special day. I have never thought about taking five wickets. I just wanted the team to win which is more important. I was concerned about my bowling because I was playing after sometime, so wanted to get my rhythm. It was perfect today. The ball was coming out well from the hand and the conditions too suited the spinners a bit," said Kuldeep.

His other T20I five-wicket haul ( 5/24) came against England in Manchester in 2018 as India won the outing by eight wickets.

The Men in Blue will finish their white-ball leg of the South African tour with three ODIs before the two-Test series.