Kochi: Kapil Pandey has seen Kuldeep Yadav grow from a reticent boy with a quirky action in Kanpur’s bylanes to one of the sharpest wristspinners in world cricket. On Wednesday, as Kuldeep ran through UAE’s hapless batters with guile and accuracy, his childhood coach swelled with pride. After warming the bench on the long tour of England, Kuldeep took four wickets for seven runs in 2.1 overs as UAE were dismissed for 57. “I saw it in his body language. He’s hitting the right lengths consistently,” coach Pandey told TOI. “It hasn’t come easy. We’ve worked consciously on not bowling short, even in the nets. He’s been pushing himself to increase his pace without losing the loop.” Pandey feels the real change in Kuldeep isn’t tactical but mental. “He’s more mature now, reading batters better and setting them up beautifully. He’s at the peak of his powers,” Pandey said. In 2021, when Kuldeep was recuperating from a knee injury, Pandey asked him to increase his pace without compromising on his lengths. The change didn’t come easy. “When he made his debut eight years ago, he tasted immediate success. With time, however, batters began to figure him out. I realised his pace was too slow and he had the tendency of dropping the ball short,” Pandey said. Pandey worked on Kuldeep’s loading and weight transfer. The bowler also improved his shoulder strength and worked on using his wrists to impart more revs on the ball. “It took time, but now the extra pace has added an extra dimension to his game. You rarely see him bowl short now. He can easily touch 90kmph,” Pandey said. Despite the added zip, Kuldeep has not abandoned his hallmark skill: turn and drift. Today, he and Jasprit Bumrah are India’s most potent all-format bowlers. In spite of the snub in England, the 30-year-old showed no rust in Dubai.
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