Former India player Aakash Chopra has praised Kuldeep Yadav for bowling an important spell in Team India’s 2025 Champions Trophy win against Pakistan. He added that a few critics were even questioning his place in the Indian playing XI and urging the team management to play Varun Chakaravarthy ahead of him as well. Notably, Kuldeep registered figures of 3/40 in nine overs as India bowled Pakistan out
for 241 on Sunday, February 23. Later on, they achieved the target with six wickets and 45 deliveries to spare as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “We have realized now why Kuldeep is our main man. I actually spoke to him before the game and he was very pumped up and confident to do well in this match. He didn’t say that but there was one thing on my mind that everyone says he should be dropped, that Varun can be played in his place. I am saying wait a little. We discussed yesterday as well that Pakistan get stuck and trapped against leg-spin and he showed that by doing it. In fact, if he had been given his last over, they would have scored 220-odd and not 240. The team might have been all out for 228. He picked up three wickets and was also on a hat-trick.”
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However, Aakash Chopra also opened up on Kuldeep Yadav’s importance for India in the middle-overs in the 2025 Champions Trophy as well.
“He is brilliant. Of course, he bowls better when there is slightly more pace on the pitch. He doesn’t get that much help if the pitch is extremely slow as you can read him off the pitch then and play him easily. However, look at the way he has bowled. Kuldeep Yadav is our main man in these conditions. He is the guy who can give you wickets in the middle overs. You have to invest in him because, let’s be honest, the fast bowling looked slightly flat. I am very happy that Shami has a week’s break because he wasn’t clicking 140 kph. He probably had less time to recover from the last match. When Shami limped, we stumbled,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
