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Many felt that he needed to bowl much quicker through the air, as he was giving time to the batters to play their shots. However, those days are now well behind the Chinaman bowler from Kanpur.
In the current IPL, Kuldeep, now bowling much faster through the air (so quick that he even broke a bail in one of the matches when he cleaned up a batter), has been brilliant, having taken 14 wickets in just nine matches@20.50, and an economy rate of 8.20.
Despite missing a few games due to a groin niggle, the 29-year-old didn’t lose his rhythm. His fine show with the ball has been critical to the Delhi Capitals. They are still in the race for a playoffs berth, having won six of their 12 matches. It’s clear that Kuldeep, presently probably the best spinner in IPL-2024, will be India’s No 1 spinner in the T20 World Cup next month in the West Indies and USA.
In comparison, Yuzvendra Chahal, whose impressive start for the Rajasthan Royals in this IPL helped him stage a return into the Indian team for the World Cup, has struggled for form in the last few matches, and, in a worrying sign for India, is being taken apart by the batters. In the last five matches, Yuzi’s figures read 1-54, 1-48, 0-41, 0-62 & 1-48.
When batters have gone after him, Chahal has struggled to find a way to survive. The flat pitches and the ‘Impact Player’ rule, which allows another specialist batter to come in, have hurt his case.
At this rate, Chahal could mostly be sitting in the dugout in the World Cup, with Kuldeep joining Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel in the XI. Still, Chahal, who has bagged 14 wickets in 11 matches@29.71 in the IPL so far and has performed superbly in this tournament in the past, can bounce back with a much better show in the business end of the tournament.