After playing a pivotal role in restricting England to 218 by taking five for 72, Kuldeep Yadav was quick to acknowledge the contributions of seniors like R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in Dharamsala.
Underplaying his efforts on the day, Kuldeep said, “I have been playing international cricket for 7 years and I have played a lot with Ash and Jaddu bhai. In some series, there were not many opportunities (for me). I have learnt a lot from Ashwin and Jadeja. In Hyderabad, I had a long chat with Ash bhai and he told me the changes that I needed to make in terms of the mindset. He gives a lot of ideas and he’s a special player.”
Asked about him and Ashwin prompting each other to lead the team into the dressing room after England’s innings, Kuldeep said, “I wanted him to lead the team since it was his 100th Test. But Ash Bhai reminded me that he had 35 balls (with which he took five or more wickets in a Test innings) and told me to keep this one and walk on.”
Kuldeep once again underplayed his effort of becoming the fastest to get 50 Test wickets in terms of the deliveries bowled. “I don’t think too much about records because they are meant to be broken. You are playing for India and you only want to put your skills to test. A lot of players don’t get opportunities, so I am grateful and lucky to have played for the country. I always want to contribute to the team’s success.”
Earlier, England’s assistant coach Marcus Trescothick admitted that his team did not put enough runs on the board. However, he did not miss the opportunity to sound rather brazen.
“We are a very unique side in how we go about things. I don’t think we will study what India does too much. We don’t get too down when we have bad days, we don’t get too high when we have good days.
“You just have to stay level and recognise what you can do better. Hopefully, we come back and improve,” he signed off.
