Kuldeep Yadav Discloses His “Guru” From England Tour

Kuldeep Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Arshdeep Singh remained on the bench throughout the England tour, despite injury issues in the team.

Kuldeep Yadav Discloses His “Guru” From England Tour

Kuldeep Yadav (via National Herald)

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Ace Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav revealed Test teammate as his ‘guru’ from the earlier tour to England, and shared that he was inspired by his performances. Yadav also explained the difference that exists in terms of his bowling experience in the shortest and longest format of the game. 

Kuldeep Yadav has been India’s star performer across all the three formats for the past few years now. He finished as the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded 2025 Asia Cup, with 17 scalps in seven matches at a bowling average of 9.29. The 30-year-old guided the Men in Blue to its ninth Asia Cup title, while also picking up a much-needed four-wicket haul in the final against arch-rivals Pakistan.

The Uttar Pradesh-born spinner overcame early career struggles by adjusting his speed and adding variations. Yadav was instrumental in India’s journey to the final at the 2023 ODI World Cup, as well as during the Men in Blues’ victorious 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. Surprisingly, the Indian team management did not give Yadav a single opportunity during the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, despite him being a part of the squad. 

Despite being kept out of the playing XI, Yadav spoke positively about his favorite moments from the series, and specifically named fellow spinner Ravindra Jadeja as his ‘guru’ from the tour. While noting that he hardly discusses cricket with the veteran all-rounder, Yadav highlighted Jadeja’s presence as invaluable in the team, demonstrating the camaraderie he shares with a player much senior to him. He told Jio Hotstar:

As you can see [Ravindra] Jadeja is here and he is my guru from the England tour… We hardly talk about anything [with Jadeja] cricket-related but yeah, it’s good to have him around.

While most Jadeja’s Test contemporaries, including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara have retired, he has continued on, scoring over 600 runs and scalping 11 wickets in his last six Test matches for India. Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav also talked about his recent performances, sharing the secret behind his effective display, which he attributed to his ability to hit the right lengths accurately. 

I’ve been very consistent throughout the Asia Cup and here as well, just hitting the right lengths. When you keep hitting the right length, you feel like you are bowling well.

Furthermore, Yadav also suggested that his bowling plans in Tests and T20Is differ a lot, as he attempts to pitch the ball up in red-ball cricket, while throwing it flatter in white-ball cricket. Yadav and Jadeja will be in action tomorrow, on the second day of the final Test between India and West Indies. 

Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Sharma Nominated for ICC Player of the Month After Impressive Asia Cup

Indian T20I stars Abhishek Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav have been named as nominees for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for September, given their impressive display at the recently-concluded 2025 Asia Cup. Sharma and Yadav finished as the highest run-getter and wicket-taker, respectively. 

Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Sharma ICC
Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Sharma have been named as nominee for the ICC Player of the Month award. (via News 18)

Abhishek Sharma, ranked the world’s number one T20I batter, was named the POTS at the Asia Cup. The all-rounder scored 314 runs in seven matches at an average of 44.85 and a strike-rate of 200, hitting three half-centuries in the ‘Super Four’ stages. It also helped him achieve a historic record on the ICC T20I Player Rankings, as he became the first batter to go past the 930-rating points mark. 

Meanwhile, Yadav grabbed two three-wicket hauls and two four-wicket hauls in the Asia Cup. Apart from the two Indian cricket stars, Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett is the other player to have been nominated for the Player of the Month award. Bennett scored 497 runs in nine T20Is at an average of 55.22 last month, also finishing as the leading run-getter in the series against Sri Lanka and Namibia. 

The three players, shortlisted for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award, include India’s Smriti Mandhana, Pakistan’s Sidra Amin and South African Tazmin Brits. Mandhana was at her best in the ODI series against Australia, ahead of the ongoing 2025 Women’s World Cup.

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