Kuldeep Yadav on Sunday showered praise on Rohit Sharma’s captaincy for the way he managed all the four spinners in the Champions Trophy. India’s spin quartet of Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel played a pivotal role in India’s triumph in Champions Trophy in Dubai.
“It’s very difficult to manage four spinners and the way he managed, it was amazing to see,” Kuldeep told Sky Sports Cricket.
“When four spinners are playing together, it is very hard to rotate any of them. Obviously the planning was going on, we played our last game in Dubai on March 4 and we got plenty, like four or five days of break and then we had a chat how we go about this game.
“The plan for me and Varun was to bowl to the new batter. We wanted to finish Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel’s over before Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell come to bat,” he said.
India’s Kuldeep Yadav, front, celebrates with teammate Virat Kohli after the dismissal of New Zealand’s Kane Williamson. (AP Photo/Christopher Pike)
Varun Chakravarthy (2/45) provided the breakthrough for India by trapping Young lbw in the eighth over. Kuldeep Yadav (2/40) bowled Rachin Ravindra with a googly in the 11th over. Kuldeep then accepted an easy return catch off Kane Williamson (11), a prized wicket for India.
Kuldeep explained how bowling in tandem with the fellow spinners has helped him during the tournament.
“I’ve been bowling with Varun from last five or six years, you know, we were part of KKR. He had a fantastic domestic season and then he played T20Is for India, he has been brilliant,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
India’s Kuldeep Yadav receives the ball to bowl his next delivery during the ICC Champions Trophy final cricket match between India and New Zealand at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Kuldeep also revealed the role he was given by captain Rohit Sharma. He said: “In the last game when Head was batting, he (Rohit Sharma) thought probably I was the better option against him and he wanted me to bowl and get him out. If he could have hit for a couple of sixes, he was fine with it. Today obviously Varun got the first wicket of Will Young and I bowled in the 11th over. I mean, Rachin was batting really well. It was the planning, to be very honest.”
When coaxed about does Rohit ever say it’s okay if he go for runs just get me wickets, Kuldeep said: “100 per cent, because he believes that I’m an attacking spinner and he wants me to create some magic on the field. He wants me to take wickets in the middle overs.”
