The Indian chinaman bowler, Kuldeep Yadav revealed the message former Indian head coach, Anil Kumble told him ahead of his Test debut in 2017 against Australia that motivated the wrist-spinner to put in an impressive performance. He revealed that Kumble gave him valuable advice and helped the youngster a lot when he first came into the national squad. 

During a recent chat with NDTV, Kuldeep said, “Anil Kumble had helped me a lot in my first series. When I had come into the team, he kept giving me inputs on my bowling. On the day before my Test debut, he told me at lunch that you have to take five wickets. I couldn’t respond for a few moments, but then said I’ll definitely do it.”

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Kuldeep delivered a bowling spell in the first innings of the Test in Dharamsala, claiming David Warner as his first international dismissal. He fell just short of his promise of a five-wicket haul to Kumble, but his match-winning figures of 4-68 helped India win the series decider. The chinaman also credited MS Dhoni for his support.

Yadav elaborated, “Whenever I played with Dhoni, I never felt the absence of my coach because he would speak to me like one and give me a lot of advice. He would always tell me to focus on spinning the ball, and from behind the wickets, he would release a lot of pressure. Sometimes you are only focused on bowling and not the fielding, so he would set the field from behind the stumps.”

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While signing off, Kuldeep explained, “He would tell you the little things about what to do in the game before the match. As a senior player, he has supported me and (Yuzvendra) Chahal a lot and handled us very well. The captain (Virat Kohli) was always there for us but his presence was also very crucial.”