After a terrible 2026 Indian Premier League season, spinner Kuldeep Yadav is ready for Test cricket. He is part of the squad that will play Afghanistan in the first Test starting Saturday at New Chandigarh.
Kuldeep appears to have moved on from his IPL debacle and hopes the extra days he got to train, by virtue of Delhi Capitals not qualifying for the play-offs, come in handy against Afghanistan.
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“It is tough when you switch from IPL cricket to red-ball cricket,” Kuldeep told on JioHotstar’s Follow the Blues.
“Preparation becomes very necessary. Luckily, I got time. I practised for at least 10 to 15 days, and got the feel of the red ball.
“In T20, you are always attacking. You always think about going after the batter. You stay in the game with that mindset. But in Test cricket, it’s not like that. The batter has a lot of time.
“Some players are coming straight after the IPL final. They don’t have that much time. But I’m sure they have prepared well. So yes, it’s a challenge, but I’m confident that everyone is preparing themselves well.”
Role of a senior spinner!
Kuldeep is certain to play in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey are the other spinners in the side. India normally play three spinners at home, which means one of Suthar or Dubey is going to debut. By the way, Suthar and Dubey are pretty good with the bat too.
Kuldeep has his task cut out now. Now he has to focus not only on his game preparations but also on overseeing Suthar and Dubey so that they do not feel the pressure and adapt to the national team culture quickly.
“Yes, Jaddu bhai is not there as he is a regular Test player. We will also miss Axar Patel in the Test match. But the preparations have been good. Washy (Washington Sundar) is also playing Test cricket quite regularly now, so he is well settled in the set-up.
“Whenever a new player joins the team, your job is to make him comfortable. You want him to see you as a partner. If he has any problem, he should feel free to talk to you, and you must be ready to support him. Over the last two years, these young players [Dubey and Suthar] have been part of India A tours. They are also playing the Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy regularly.
“So there might be a lack of international experience, but when it comes to preparation, match awareness, or red-ball cricket, they are absolutely on top because they are playing regularly,” Kuldeep said.