Kanpur Test: After a long wait, Kuldeep may finally make his bow at home

The spotlight will certainly be on Kuldeep Yadav, who looks set to play his first home Test against Bangladesh at the Green Park in Kanpur from Friday. It’s been a rather long wait for the gifted left-arm wrist spinner who made his Test debut more than seven years back in 2017 – and he will certainly want to make it count against Nazimul Hussain Shanto’s men.

The journey has been a chequered one in international cricket for someone as talented as Kuldeep, especially when one looks at his Test record of 53 wickets from 12 matches – which includes four five-wicket hauls. What’s more, he became the fastest to reach the 50-wicket mark in more than 100 years during the Dharamsala Test against England in March.

 It’s a pity that he hasn’t had better exposure in this format at home, given the fact that the presence of Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and the so-called team balance has worked against the matchwinner. The last time India played a Test in Kanpur against New Zealand in 2021, the trio of Ashwin-Jadeja-Axar Patel was in operation but the strong buzz is Kuldeep may walk in as the third spinner at the expense of a pacer.

They say that a wrist spinner takes time to mature but at 29 years, the chinaman bowler is bowling better than ever before and can prove deadly on his familiar slow, low turner in Kanpur. The strong chances of seeing Kuldeep in action have set the expectations soaring in the bustling city of Uttar Pradesh, which enjoyed its pride of place as the international venue in the state till the state-of-the-art Ekana Stadium in Lucknow came up. The latter now is the home venue of the IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants for the past couple of years.

Speaking to the National Herald over the phone, Kuldeep’s coach and mentor Kapil Dev Pandey was understandably excited that his ward could get an opportunity to bowl at a Test at home after being around for several years. ‘’See, this has happened because we have the likes of class performers like Ashwin and Jadeja in the Indian team. However, Kuldeep has been a wicket-taking bowler throughout his career and doesn’t need purchase from the wicket to perform,’’ said Pandey, whose academy where Kuldeep first learnt the ropes is barely seven-eight kilometres away from the venue.

Fifer at Dharamsala

His observation is backed by the fact that in his last Test against England in Dharamsala, under conditions suited for seam bowlers, Kuldeep ran through Ben Stokes’ side for a five-wicket haul in one innings and seven wickets in all. ‘’He has what it takes to be a quality spinner – the ability to turn the ball both ways. Kuldeep can be difficult to read and a bit of bounce in the wicket makes him a rather tricky customer,’’ Pandey added.

An impressive show with the ball in Kanpur may make it difficult for the team management to keep him out of the equation for the three-Test series against the Kiwis at home as well as the demanding Australia tour. Agreeing that Kuldeep’s bowling suits the surfaces Down Under, Pandey pointed out: ‘’Yes, one of his five-wicket hauls happened in Sydney. Let’s hope for the best.’’