Internet Desk: Indian cricket team’s new sensation, chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav thinks there are no spinners in Indian cricket who can replace veteran spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Young Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal are bowling brilliantly for the Men in Blue right now in the last couple of limited overs series and for them the selectors again didn’t pick Ashwin and Jadeja for the forthcoming three match ODI series against New Zealand.
“You cannot replace anyone. Ashwin and Jaddu bhai are the number one and number two spinners of India and I will always look up to learn from them,” Kuldeep said of his seniors to AFP.
“They have done extremely well in Test, ODI and T20 cricket. We are very young and have to play much more cricket to even get close to them,” he added.
Kuldeep looked pretty humbled about India skipper Virat Kohli. According to him Kohli always backs young talents and the success always depends on a team’s hard work.
“It has been a team effort and especially the way Virat Kohli has led the team and backed us youngsters. It has made all the difference and been the biggest factor for our success,” he said.
“I don’t plan much. I just think that every game is important and the more I keep performing, the better my chances of enjoying a long run with team India.”
He played a big part in India’s 4-1 win over Australia, but many believe the real test will come in tours of South Africa and England next year.
Ahead of India’s series against New Zealand, starting Sunday, Kuldeep told that his varied left-arm wrist spin will be a weapon on any track.
“It doesn’t matter to me where I am playing because since my childhood I have bowled on cemented wickets. So if you can turn the ball on concrete then you can spin it anywhere,” Kuldeep said.
“If you have skill, good variation and are beating the batsmen in the air then you can find success anywhere,” added Kuldeep, who hails from the northern city of Kanpur.
Kuldeep started as a pace bowler but at the age of nine he switched to wrist spin at his coach’s insistence.
“I started my career in 2004 as a fast bowler. After practising for a few months my coach advised me to switch to spin.
“I did not like it at the start, but the first ball I bowled was wrist spin and I had no idea what it was. So, he must have thought I have a talent and he worked on it.
“Initially it was tough but when I got down to it, the hard work paid off.”
Kuldeep has made his mark in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
But his rise as a top-class spinner has been instrumental in India becoming top of the world Test and one-day rankings.
The latest addition to India’s rich spin tradition made an instant impact with four wickets in his debut Test against Australia in Dharamsala this year.
Kuldeep grew up watching videos of spin legend Shane Warne and still calls the Aussie great his reference point in learning the rare art.
Warne recently compared Kuldeep to Pakistan’s established Test spinner Yasir Shah, saying the Indian can become “the best leg-spinner” if he remains patient.
“It’s great to be compared to a top spinner like Yasir Shah. It’s heartening to see praise coming from my idol. It reassures my belief in my talent,” said Kuldeep.
“It makes me happy that he (Warne) backs me and I feel there is some more talent in me.”