“The guts Kuldeep showed was really impressive” - Virat Kohli’s childhood coach hails left-arm spinner for crucial knock

Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma praised Indian left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav for his contribution with the bat on Day 2 of the Chattogram Test.

Resuming their first innings on 278/6 on Thursday, December 15, India lost Shreyas Iyer early. He fell for 86, adding only four runs to his overnight score. The visitors were in danger of being bowled out for under 350. However, Ravichandran Ashwin (58 off 113) and Kuldeep (40 off 114) added 92 runs for the eighth wicket, enabling India to cross 400.

Kuldeep (4/33) and Mohammed Siraj (3/14) then maintained the pressure on Bangladesh, reducing the hosts to 133/8 by stumps on Day 2 of the Test. While discussing India’s dominating performance, Sharma told India News:

“The Kuldeep-Ashwin’s partnership was a decisive one, because it took us past 400. We all know how Ashwin can bat, but the guts Kuldeep showed was really impressive. He showed very good temperament. Lower-order batters need to contribute in a champion side.”

Former India all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi praised the left-arm spinner for making an impressive comeback to Test cricket. Describing the 28-year-old as a champion spinner in red-ball cricket for India, he stated:

“There were a lot of expectations from Kuldeep since this is his comeback match. The way the ball was coming out of his hand, it was really impressive. If we talk about red-ball cricket, Kuldeep is among our champion spinners. With his bowling, he has impressed one and all.”

After Siraj claimed three of the first four Bangladesh wickets to fall, Kuldeep ran through the middle and lower order, dismissing Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Taijul Islam.

---

“The innings Kuldeep played changed the scenario of the match” - Sodhi

Sodhi also chipped in with his thoughts on Kuldeep’s batting, stating that his knock changed the scenario of the Test match. He further admitted that the innings would give the bowler confidence when he steps out with the willow in future games. Sodhi opined:

“It is the demand of today’s times that so-called bowlers also score runs lower down the order. These runs can even win you games. The innings Kuldeep played changed the scenario of the match. His confidence would have gone up. You can even be considered an all-rounder if you can consistently perform like this.”

The left-arm spinner’s 40 on Thursday was his highest score in Test cricket. He has one hundred and six fifties to his name in first-class cricket.