Kuldeep Yadav has been in exemplary form, bagging Player of the Match awards in India's first two games in the Asia Cup 2025. He picked up four wickets against the UAE in India's opening game in the continental competition, and followed it up with a three-wicket haul versus arch-rivals Pakistan.
Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar revealed that Kuldeep worked really hard on his bowling in recent times and is now reaping the fruits of it in the Asia Cup. The 39-year-old said that Kuldeep practised
bowling on sand, and these surfaces helped him bowl quicker.
"Maine baat cheet ki thi unse ki kya kiya tha unhone. Woh kaafi interesting hai kyunki woh ret pe gendbaazi karte they jahan pe pitch banaya nahin hai, taaki vahan pe gend jo ruk ke aati hai, vahan tez daalenge toh unko aur bite milega. Toh woh ek cheez tha. Thodi run-up mein change ki, jo angle se bhaag rahe they use thoda seedha kiya. Aur woh zyaada jump kar rahe they, woh thoda sa kam kiya jisse woh momentum transfer kar paa rahe they. Toh yeh thode se changes ki, kaafi mehnat ki unhone, kyunki kathin samay tha unke liye," Nayar said during an interaction on Sony Sports.
(I spoke to him. It's very interesting, he used to bowl on sand where the ball stops. He bowled with speed to gain more bite. That is one thing. He also changed his run-up, the angle with which he ran he made it straight. Also, he jumped a bit too much before which has changed, allowing him to transfer a lot more momentum. Kuldeep has worked a lot on his bowling and was going through a difficult time.)
Nayar also mentioned that despite going through difficult times, the left-arm wrist spinner didn't get too perturbed and continued listening to advice from his childhood coach, who helped him turn things around for the better.
"Aur kaafi log kaafi kuch keh rahe they. But you always have a coach, jo aapko bachpan se jaanta hai. Toh unki sahaayta leke kaafi mehnat ki. Aur jo nazar aa raha hai woh unki poori mehnat hai (A lot of people were saying plenty of things. But when you have a coach, who you know from the beginning, it is easier. He helped Kuldeep, and whatever you are seeing is the result of his hard work.)," Nayar said.
Kuldeep is the leading wicket-taker in the 2025 Asia Cup so far. He has seven wickets from two games at a mind-boggling average of 3.57. His strike rate is also an impressive 5.29. The 30-year-old has only conceded runs at an economy rate of 4.05.
