Kuldeep Yadav must be a very happy man on being a part of the squad in India’s back-to-back T20 World Cup crowns. He would have been a lot happier, though, had he got to play a bigger role in India’s Cup defence.

In the just-concluded campaign, Kuldeep played just one game: the group-stage clash against Pakistan in Colombo, where he bowled three overs with figures of 1/14. The conditions at the Premadasa in Colombo did give India the option of playing three spinners, and they went ahead with that before securing a comprehensive 61-run victory.

But thereafter, in the rest of the games where conditions were comparatively more in favour of the batsmen, the team management
preferred to have faith in Varun Chakravarthy as the second spinner after left-armer Axar Patel.

It wasn’t a new experience for the benched Kuldeep, though, as he was kept in the reserves throughout last year’s Test tour of England.

To talk of Varun, it was not that he did brilliantly in this World Cup. Yes, he fared well in the group phase. But since the Super Eight clash against South Africa in Ahmedabad (1/47 off four overs), the 34-year-old had a hard time with the ball.

From the Super Eights till the final, Varun, off his 19 overs, took five wickets and conceded as many as 225 runs at an economy rate of close to 12 runs an over. Fortunately, his struggles didn’t turn out to be an obstacle to India’s third T20 World Cup title.

“Sticking with Varun despite him being expensive could be a matter of continuity, which the team management seems to have laid greater emphasis on,” former national selector Devang Gandhi feels.

But, with Varun not going through a great phase, the upcoming IPL does provide Kuldeep with an opportune moment to register impressive numbers for Delhi Capitals, which could strengthen his scope to stake a claim on India’s T20I XI.

India’s next T20 assignment is the five-match away series versus England in July. If Kuldeep finds success in this IPL, some pressure could be on Varun as well.

“Not just that, very soon, the attention will start shifting towards the 50-over format as you have the ODI World Cup (in South Africa) next year. From that perspective, the matches Kuldeep plays going forward assume greater
importance in terms of assuring himself of a place in
the Cup squad,” Devang, who was in the selection panel when Kuldeep made his international debut nine years ago, pointed out.

“Also, Kuldeep will be a better choice (than Varun) in South Africa, where the pitches will have a lot more bounce. He can be expensive but can also pick up wickets utilising that extra bounce.”

At present, Kuldeep is getting ready to get married to long-time partner Vanshika in Mussourie on Saturday.
Once he joins the Capitals squad for IPL 2026, beginning on March 28 in Bengaluru, it will be business as usual for the 31-year-old.

“We’ve seen that on flatter pitches, Varun isn’t as effective as he is when the ball
grips on the surface. In comparison, Kuldeep has the wherewithal to succeed even on flat wickets. So, he understands that irrespective of the format, the coming games are all very important for him,” Kuldeep’s long-time coach Kapil Pandey said.