When the Indian chinaman, Kuldeep Yadav made his international debut, everyone instantly knew he had the potential to do something great. The young spinner from Kanpur has emerged as the go-to bowler for the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli ever since his debut. In a recent interview, the wrist-spinner recalled the memories of his Test debut in Dharamsala against Australia in 2017. 

Kuldeep revealed that the then coach Anil Kumble had come to him a day before the match and informed him about the debut. In the recent episode of “Spicy Pitch”, a show by Cricbuzz, he said, “The most important thing for me at the time was how to perform. I remember a day before the match, Anil sir came to me and said ‘you will play tomorrow, you have to take 5 wickets’.”

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Yadav then assured Kumble that he will take five wickets in the match. The chinaman also recalled that Laxman Sivaramakrishnan handed him the debut cap and he was blank out of nervousness and couldn’t remember the advice the former cricketer gave him.

Kuldeep elaborated, “So, I paused for a second, and then I was like, ‘yes sir, I will pick up 5 wickets’. (Laxman) Sivaramakrishnan sir gave me my Test cap. He gave me some advice, I don’t remember what, as I was completely blank at the time.”

The chairman took four crucial wickets in the first innings against Australia which included David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Handscomb, and Pat Cummins. Yadav said that he felt a lot of pressure going into the match. However, once he started bowling, he felt a bit relaxed.

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Kuldeep added, “I was feeling a lot of pressure, I was really nervous. I felt that it was a big stage — how will I perform here. But then I bowled a couple of overs before lunch, and I felt relaxed. I decided to play it like it is a Ranji Trophy match. Test cricket has always been very close to my heart.”