Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has given an important tip to Kuldeep Yadav, appealing to the left-arm wrist spinner to work on his pace variations by drawing inspiration from England leg-spinner Adil Rashid. While agreeing that Kuldeep has developed by raising his bowling speed to suit team needs, Manjrekar feels the change has been at the expense of something. He believes that Kuldeep has become too dependent on flatter, quicker deliveries, which have taken away his greatest assets—deception and turn.

Kuldeep Yadav returned to India’s playing XI in the third ODI against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in place of injured Varun Chakravarthy. He turned in a decent outing, taking figures of 1-38 off eight overs, including a smartly camouflaged googly that accounted for Tom Banton. His eight overs, in combination with left-arm spinner Axar Patel, were key in breaking England’s pursuit of 357 and winning India a thumping 142-run victory.

The Indian spinner had also played a part in the series-opener in Nagpur, where he took figures of 1-53 in 9.4 overs. Sanjay Manjrekar had noted that Kuldeep’s choice to ramp up his bowling pace was a response to consistent criticism of his initial, slower trajectory. However, he opines that by doing so, the spinner has been overdependent on the pitch and not on his natural abilities.

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“Kuldeep Yadav worries me a little with the speed at which he bowls. There was a lot of criticism about how slow he was, but the concern was about the ball coming slow off the pitch, not through the air. To counter that, he has compromised, and understandably so, to fit into the team’s demands,” Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.

“It’s like he had to bowl faster to remain in the team. But now, he is bowling flat and just quick. He is genuinely strong when it comes to deception and turn. The faster you are, the less you get that, and the more you have to rely on the pitch,” he continued.

Manjrekar feels Kuldeep may take a thing or two from Adil Rashid, England’s most successful spinner in the series, who topped the wicket-taker list with a four-wicket effort in the final ODI. Rashid’s success, says Manjrekar, was due to his capacity to change his pace, going between the mid-70s to the high 80s and going as high as 90 kmph on occasion.

“By comparison, Adil Rashid had an excellent series against a good Indian batting line-up. His wickets were obtained by piercing the defence of leading players. If you see his speeds, they vary extensively, as compared to Kuldeep, who remains predominantly in the high 80s. Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from Rashid’s book,” Sanjay Manjrekar summed up.

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With Kuldeep Yadav included in India’s team for the 2025 Champions Trophy, everyone will watch keenly as he settles and adapts his skills. How well he is able to implement these lessons may be the difference for India’s spin department during the tournament.