"KKR weren't taking the tournament seriously"- Kuldeep Yadav frustrated with lack of chances [Exclusive]

Kuldeep Yadav has established himself as one of the best spinners in India at the moment. Although he hasn't got consistent chances for the Men In Blue across formats of late, there has understandably been healthy competition for places in the spin department.

However, his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have also been depriving him of consistent chances over the past couple of seasons, something that has raised quite a few eyebrows.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Kuldeep Yadav opened up on his lack of chances, what he feels is going wrong at KKR, his goals for the Sri Lanka tour, and much more.

Kuldeep Yadav's mixed stint with KKR

Kuldeep Yadav has had a mixed bag with KKR so far

Kuldeep Yadav made his debut for KKR under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir. The former KKR skipper backed the wrist spinner as his number one match-winner and it showed in the way Kuldeep bowled.

In the Champions League as well as the IPL, Kuldeep Yadav was one of Gambhir's go-to men in tough situations. The wrist-spinner picked up 18 wickets in 15 games under Gambhir for KKR.

Kuldeep created history yesterday & Gambhir is the man who backed him when no one else did! 🙌🏼🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/SBvlxRIKZc

— Team Gautam Gambhir (@gautamgambhir97) September 22, 2017

However, as Gambhir moved on, KKR consistently started to finish outside the top four. Kuldeep Yadav also began to get fewer chances and it affected his confidence. He didn't hold back while talking about the mindset of the new KKR team compared to that at the time of Gambhir at the helm.

"When you watch international cricket, you see that there's that hunger within Virat Kohli to do well and take the team forward and win. When Gauti bhai played for KKR, even he had the same mindset that the team should win. Then I think KKR were lacking in that regard and weren't thinking in that way, or maybe they weren't taking this tournament seriously or thinking about their approach if they lost games. These things matter a lot and I think those things were missing," Kuldeep Yadav opined.

"I didn't get the kind of trust that Gauti bhai showed in me"- Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav believes Gautam Gambhir showed a lot of trust in him

In the past three IPL seasons, KKR have finished in the top four just once. They have constantly underperformed and have fallen short of ideas when it comes to wicket-taking.

Despite KKR's struggles, Kuldeep Yadav played just 14 games and wasn't backed by either the captain or the team management. The 26-year-old is yet to play a single game in the IPL 2021 season and has been hurt by the treatment he has received from the team. He stated:

"Somewhere it does feel unfair that when you play for India but you still don't get to play franchise cricket. You do feel bad but there is nothing you can do, you can only work hard and ask for reasons. When you do ask for reasons you get some explanation but maybe the kind of backing that I was expecting from KKR I didn't get. The kind of trust Gauti bhai showed in me, maybe I didn't get that in this team."

Don't know why KKR is wasting Kuldeep Yadav's talent.Now only if KKR releases or trades him in other franchise where he can improve himself then only his career can be saved.Also it's tough that next year there will be a mega auction too#iplpostponed #IPLCovidBreach #ipl2022 pic.twitter.com/gWUhZT98P2

— imSudcsk_24™ 🏅 (@imSudcsk_24) May 6, 2021

With the T20 World Cup set to be played in India later this year, as well as the next edition of the tournament in Australia next year, Kuldeep Yadav has his eyes set on the Sri Lanka tour. He feels if can make the most of his chances, he might feature in at least one of the two showpiece events.

"If I do get a chance on the Sri Lanka tour or in the second half of the IPL then I will be able to make an impact in the T20 World Cup. And there is another World Cup next year Down Under, so it's not that this is my last chance. I might be effective in Australia if I get a chance," Kuldeep Yadav signed off.