“He needs backing and game time” – Deep Dasgupta’s advice to revive a struggling Kuldeep Yadav

Deep Dasgupta has encouraged India to back Kuldeep Yadav during the ODI series despite his recent struggles. The cricketer turned commentator said that supporting Kuldeep Yadav during his lean phase was the only way to bring him back to form.

Kuldeep Yadav was picked ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal in the first India vs England ODI. But the left-arm wrist-spinner failed to impress, ending up as the only Indian bowler without a wicket.

Deep Dasgupta discussed Kuldeep Yadav’s performance on Sports Today. He advised India to back the 26-year-old, suggesting the spinner should stick to favorable matchups during games.

“If you have to give somebody the confidence then the only way that can happen is to make him play, make him bowl. Obviously, get him to bowl the overs against the right batsmen. But if we want Kuldeep back in action and deliver close to his 100 per cent of what we've seen or better than that, he needs backing and game time."

Kuldeep Yadav’s record in T20 and ODI cricket has taken a serious turn for the worse since the start of 2019. True measures compare a bowler’s performance to the expected performance based on the over they bowled in - this is designed to contextualise traditional stats. #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/rJMcV9Gl05

— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) February 5, 2020

Kuldeep Yadav has had a tough few years in international cricket. Dropped from both the Indian team and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, Kuldeep has seen other spinners get ahead of him in the pecking order.

Back him a bit: Dasgupta on Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav ODI Average Bowling Impact:2017-18 +10.32019 +0.72020-21 -15.6#INDvENG

— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) March 23, 2021

The spinner has failed to nail down a place in any of the formats for India. Kuldeep Yadav did not make an impact during the England Tests, while he didn’t get a look-in in Australia despite the slate of injuries experienced by India.

He last played a T20I for India in February 2020, while his ODI form has been patchy. He averages 53 in ODIs in the last two years, which is almost double his career average of 27.10

Kuldeep Yadav looked out of sorts in the first India vs England ODI, where he ended up with figures of 9-0-68-0. Previewing the second game, Deep Dasgupta hopes India can stick with Kuldeep Yadav for a while longer.

"I would like to see Kuldeep for, at least, another game because, as it is, he has been struggling, he is struggling with confidence. We can see, he hasn't played much international cricket in the last couple of years. We can see that he is trying hard so all I will say is, maybe, they should back him a bit. I know, he went for a few [runs] as well in the last game."

It is unclear whether India will back Kuldeep Yadav in the second ODI. With Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal in the squad, Virat Kohli may look to change things up on Friday.