Kuldeep Yadav, against the Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday, went for 29 runs in three overs without taking a wicket. This is the second instance this season that the Delhi Capitals spinner has failed to put a number in his wicket column. The first one was versus the Rajasthan Royals last week. 

The left-arm spinner, with 17 wickets in nine games, trails purple cap holder Yuzvendra Chahal by two scalps. 

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A poll conducted during the first innings of the match between Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants revealed that 84% people believe Kuldeep Yadav is the best feel good story of IPL 2022. 

In his last match, against the Kolkata Knight Riders, the chinaman bowler had conceded 14 runs in three overs, picking four key wickets. Social media users and cricket experts criticised DC skipper Rishabh Pant for not letting Kuldeep Yadav complete his four-over quota. 

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“I thought we would give him (Kuldeep) his final over from the other end but then the ball kept getting wet and I also wanted to change the pace, that’s why I brought the fast bowlers in but it didn’t work,” Pant explained his call. 

Yadav has been in and out of the national team in the past couple years. The 27-year-old’s downfall started after he was left out of India’s 2019 World Cup semi-final match. He was also left out of the T20 World Cup squad and had a major knee surgery that ruled him out of last IPL.

But with the T20 World Cup 2022 coming up, Yadav has bounced back and pretty strongly. He has been bowling a lot fuller and has increased the average speed to about 85 mph. 

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“I have probably become a better bowler [than before]. However, one thing is certain that I have become a lot stronger mentally. When you fail in life, you think, ‘Where can I improve?’ You learn from your mistakes when you face failure in life. I have worked on it, and now I have no fear of failure,” Kuldeep Yadav, a strong contender for a spot in the T20 World Cup side, said after his spell against RR. 

He was picked by Delhi Capitals in the 2022 for Rs 2 crore in the mega-auction. The team’s head coach Ricky Ponting said that he required a “positive environment” filled with a lot of “love and attention” to blossom. 

“We are really pleased for him, he was one of our main targets in the auction. We are giving him a lot of love and attention. He’s a terrific young guy and this talented left-arm leg-spinner really seems to be thriving in this (positive) environment,” Ponting said on Star Sports.

“We are all pretty wrapped with him and make sure that we keep things in line with him and not let him get too far ahead of himself. And at the moment he’s bowling beautifully.”