Follow UsThe sudden retirements of R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have forced the Indian men’s Test side to make many new changes to prepare themselves for a time without the veterans.
Amongst these changes, the change of Ravindra Jadeja’s spin partner is one of the most significant ones, with Kuldeep Yadav replacing Ashwin as Jadeja’s partner in India’s spin duo. Right now, Kuldeep has 56 Test wickets in just 13 Tests at a stellar average of 22.16 and strike rate of 37.37, which is the best in history for spinners with a cut-off of 50 wickets.
Speaking about the changes, Kuldeep said that he feels honoured to be partnering Jadeja in the spin attack and is keen to learn a lot from the veteran spin all-rounder.
“Playing alongside Jadeja is such a great honour for me," Kuldeep said on the sidelines of the intra-squad game between India A and India ahead of the five-Test series against England.
“Obviously, Jadeja and [R] Ashwin have been brilliant over the last few years. When I made my debut in India, they helped me a lot. And even now, we have been having a lot of chat about how to bowl to certain batters, given the way the England batters are batting at the moment.
"I'm actually spending a lot of time with him [Jadeja], not only on the field, but also outside as well. So it has actually helped me a lot in terms of tactics and the field placements, and he has given some tips as well."
India’s left-arm wrist spinner also talked about the new Test skipper Shubman Gill and said that the youngster is continuing the good work done by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the Test side, as he directly learned from them.
“Shubman knows how to lead a team," Kuldeep said.
"He has worked under the seniors in the last couple of years. In the last one year, you'd have seen him in a lot of discussions with Rohit bhai - not only in Tests but even in ODIs. I'm sure he has learned a lot, but as a leader, from what I have seen so far, he's very motivated and he's been playing an active role in lifting the team.
"I have seen over the last three-four sessions that Shubman has the same qualities that I've seen in our previous leadership groups. He's fully ready to lead us."