"He's my captain"- Kuldeep Yadav credits star India player for crucial inputs during IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2025 match

Indian left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav has credited the inputs of fellow left-arm spinner Axar Patel in his performance in the Asia Cup 2025 match against Pakistan on Sunday, September 14. The 30-year-old said that Axar urging him to put more revolutions on the ball played a role in him taking a few of the wickets in the first innings.

Kuldeep took 3/18 in his four overs which helped restrict Pakistan to 127/9 in 20 overs. He told BCCI.TV:

"He’s my captain (Axar Patel). It is very important but there are a lot of small things. Just like today, when we were bowling, you told me to put more revs on the ball as it is gripping and spinning. Those words struck me. I had bowled only one over, and I thought I should try and spin the ball. That would give me more bounce. You had taken two wickets, and I took three, which made it a total of five wickets. It became a collective team effort.” “But I have to give you special credit. You bowled really well. Perhaps you got an idea, as you had bowled before and knew the conditions."

Axar said that he had figured out that his bowling speed was making it easy for batters to go after him. As a result, for the game against Pakistan, he opted to bowl a lot slower and give the ball more revolutions.

"Obviously, like we played in the last match, every new match has a different wicket. But when I played the last match, I felt that the speed I was bowling was becoming easy for the batters. I assessed that and thought I would try to bowl a bit slower in the first over and give the ball the revs. It worked," he said.

---

Kuldeep Yadav opens up about the work he put in in England ahead of Asia Cup 2025

Kuldeep Yadav has emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, with seven scalps in two matches. The left-arm wristspinner credited the work he put in during the England tour, in terms of his training, fitness and bowling. The 30-year-old said:

“It feels great, especially when you play after a long time. The hard work I put in for two months in England, in terms of training, fitness, and bowling. I focused on all the numbers that were important and I knew might get a chance to play in the Asia Cup because the conditions were favourable. But it is important to get into that rhythm and execute your plans repeatedly. That’s very important”.

The Delhi Capitals spinner did not feature in a single Test match against England as the management opted to bolster the batting, picking Washington Sundar as the second spin bowling option.

Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news

Edited by Shankar