E2bet: Kuldeep Yadav: Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav has said that he was shocked by the Test retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The 30-year-old admitted that he did have an inkling about Ravichandran Ashwin calling it a day before it happened.
Kuldeep Yadav: Sharma and Kohli announced their retirements from the longest format in May, while Ashwin announced his international retirement in December 2024.
“I had an inkling that Ash bhai might retire due to his body. We used to have a lot of chats and once I remember, he put his hand on me and said, ‘You will have to take responsibility in the future. You have to manage’. I used to feel a bit concerned that he doesn’t leave and go,” Kuldeep told Indian Express in an interview.
“I was shocked when Rohit bhai and Virat bhai retired. You want your senior players to stay for big series such as this. I have spent a lot of time with Ash bhai, discussing bowling and even field settings; we used to sit and talk. His exit is shocking to me as I was learning a lot from him. He would keep feeding me ideas.I played and learned a lot with Ashwin.”
Kuldeep Yadav: He also opened up about his relationship with Sharma, saying that he took care of him like “an elder brother”. He added that the 38-year-old would also scold him sometimes, but those gestures motivated him when things were not going too well. He said:
“I had a great understanding and bond with Rohit bhai. He used to look after me like an elder brother, even off the field. When bowling, he used to tell me clearly what he expected from me and whether I was delivering it or not.”
“If he found that I was lagging somewhere, he used to tell me to put more effort on that aspect. He would clearly tell me the role he expected from me, and sometimes he used to scold me as well — little things that always lifted me in bad times and took great care of me,” Kuldeep said.
Kuldeep Yadav: The duo last played in the BGT series, which Australia won 3-1.
Kuldeep Yadav explains why Delhi Capitals did not make it to IPL 2025 Playoffs
Kuldeep felt that the failure to step up and deliver in all three facets together in matches consistently led to DC’s downfall in IPL 2025.
“All the facets of the game need to click in this format. Sometimes our batting collapsed and sometimes our bowling didn’t do well. Both sides never performed together. When we had to score big, we didn’t do so. We scored 160 on the Delhi wicket. We also lost close matches, like the one against Mumbai. We lost momentum, some matches were affected by rain, and the game at Dharamshala was stopped midway,” he said.
The 30-year-old has been picked in India’s 18-man squad for the tour to England. The first Test in the five-match series starts at Leeds on Friday, June 20.
