Former South African fast bowler and India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel has commended Kuldeep Yadav’s professionalism and preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup, noting that the left-arm wrist-spinner is well
aware of what he needs to do to get ready for T20 cricket.
Kuldeep’s last appearance for India in T20Is was during the 2024 T20 World Cup final, where India triumphed over South Africa by seven runs to secure the trophy in Barbados. Despite having taken 69 wickets in 40 T20Is, Kuldeep did not participate in India’s 2-2 drawn Test series in England.
In the spinners’ slot, Kuldeep faces competition from fellow wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, who also played a crucial role in India’s victory at the 2025 Champions Trophy in the UAE.
“I think he’s a very professional athlete. His attitude since England, where he received hardly any game time, he’s still the guy that put the overs in. For me, Kuldeep has bowled a lot of overs in his career. He knows what to do to get himself ready for T20 and white-ball cricket.”
“Like I said, we can control only what we can control now and that is when we do train now and when we have our sessions, that it’s focused, there’s a purpose behind it and we have goals. We set those goals out and from there it’s up to them to go out and lead with the ball,” Morkel was quoted as saying on the sidelines of India’s practice session at the ICC Academy on Monday.
Wickets To Decide India Playing XI For Asia Cup?
The current weather in the UAE is scorching, and its impact on the fresh pitches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi remains to be seen. “Again, we need to go and look at the wicket. I think when the Champions Trophy was played at that time, there was a lot of cricket on the surfaces here and they looked a little bit tired.”
“So again, tonight we will have a first look at the surface and I believe there’s quite a bit of a grass covering on the square. So we’ll have a good idea going into after the first game in terms of what is sort of a better way to go. But in terms of planning at the moment, we’re covering all bases and then we’ll make the decision obviously on match day,” added Morkel.
He highlighted the importance of spending time with family and continuous planning in collaboration with fitness trainers, S&C trainers, fielding coaches, and Gautam to improve the squad.
Morkel concluded that planning for the squad involves endless conversations to enhance the team, focusing on both red ball and white ball cricket. He stressed the importance of refreshing and recharging during the break.
(With inputs from IANS)
