I could not understand why Kuldeep was out of the team in the first place – Shoaib Akhtar praises the spinner’s 5-wicket haul

Former Pakistan gun fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar failed to understand why Kuldeep Yadav was left out of the national team. Yadav had gone through a lull period in between but he has been bowling at his best in the recent past.

The left-arm spinner was able to deliver the goods against Pakistan in the Super Fours stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Monday.

After India posted a huge score of 356 runs on the board, courtesy of centuries from KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, the bowling unit was right on the money with Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya striking early.

Yadav was able to keep up the pressure as he returned with impressive figures of 5-25 in the eight overs he bowled. The left-arm wrist spinner accounted for Fakhar Zaman, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, and Faheem Ashraf in his fine spell.

In the 14 ODIs of 2023, Yadav has picked up 27 wickets at an average of 16.18. In fact, Kuldeep could only take eight wickets in nine matches in 2020 and 2021 and thus got limited chances in the playing XI.

Shoaib Akhtar said on his YouTube Channel, “I could not understand why Kuldeep was out of the team in the first place. He showed that he was the best spinner in the town.”

“Now India and Pakistan should meet in the final, where it will be a battle of attitude and nerves,” Akhtar added.

Akhtar was impressed with India’s bowlers’ attitude after the batters posted a huge score of 356 runs. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Hardik Pandya were right on the money in the initial phase.

“It was a well-deserved win for India, they played really well. What I liked the most was the attitude the Indian bowlers came out with. They wanted to take wickets and wrap the contest up quickly. That was a very encouraging sign for me as a fast bowler.”

India will take on Sri Lanka in their second game of Super Fours on Tuesday.