"It was an injustice to him" - Ajay Jadeja lauds Kuldeep Yadav's spell in IND vs UAE Asia Cup 2025 clash

Former India player Ajay Jadeja has lauded Kuldeep Yadav for bowling a penetrative spell in the Men in Blue's Asia Cup 2025 clash against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He light-heartedly noted that an injustice was meted out to Kuldeep, highlighting that the left-arm wrist-spinner might have picked up a six-wicket haul had he bowled four consecutive overs.

Kuldeep registered figures of 4/7 in 2.1 overs as India bowled the UAE out for 57 in a Group A game in Dubai on Wednesday, September 10. Suryakumar Yadav and company then achieved the target with nine wickets and 15.3 overs to spare.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, Jadeja was asked whether Kuldeep came as an out-of-syllabus question for the UAE batters.

"Forget the syllabus, he is not even in the book. The four wickets he took, it was an injustice to him. Forget the five matches you didn't play him (in the Test series against England), I am talking light-heartedly, as people might take it seriously, when he had picked up two wickets in his first two overs, Shivam Dube was brought in to bowl, and he was removed, that he is fit (in the team)," he responded.

The former India captain opined that Kuldeep might have picked up more wickets had he not been removed from the attack.

"Others were being tried. When he was brought back, he again picked up two wickets in two or three balls. If he had bowled four consecutive overs, he might have picked up six wickets instead of four," Jadeja observed.

Kuldeep Yadav picked up three wickets in his second over, the ninth over of the UAE innings, dismissing Rahul Chopra, Muhammad Waseem and Harshit Kaushik. However, he was removed from the attack after that and reintroduced only in the 14th over, where he got rid of Haider Ali with his first ball to end the UAE innings.

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"There is no doubt that he is a special player" - Ajay Jadeja on Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav (right) has picked up 73 wickets in 40 T20I innings. [P/C: Getty]

In the same discussion, Ajay Jadeja termed Kuldeep Yadav a special player and highlighted the improvement in his bowling.

"There is no doubt that he is a special player. The skill of left-arm wrist spin is extremely rare, and along with that, the thing he has in his hand. Earlier, the speed wasn't this much. Now, he is releasing the ball very well. So it was a matter of time," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Kuldeep would be a crucial bowler for India in their Asia Cup 2025 clash against Pakistan.

"It was very difficult for these batters to pick which way the ball would go. They were playing on hope as to where the ball would go. You see his class even against good players many times, and his role will be as important in the Pakistan match, and he might be effective there also, although it won't be as much as he was against the UAE," Jadeja observed.

To conclude, Ajay Jadeja opined that Kuldeep Yadav would deceive any batter, considering the control he has at the moment. He added that the 30-year-old would change the course of the game whenever he comes to bowl.