Kuldeep Yadav shares insight on the Guwahati track, mentioning that the wicket did not offer any help for either the spinners or the seam bowlers.
He also noted that India could not choke their opposition with continuous spells from their spinners and a tight fielding position.
Kuldeep Yadav has been India’s most successful bowler in India, be it with the red ball or with the white ball, since his return to international cricket. He remains one of India’s highest wicket-takers in home Tests in 2025, with many wickets from the West Indies tour and a handful of them at the Eden Gardens and now another 4-fer in Guwahati.
South Africa, despite all, managed to go past the score of 480, and Kuldeep Yadav has taken a dig at the pitch again, this time for not being of any help to the bowlers. Indian spinners could not spin the ball much, unlike South African spinners, who have found considerable spin on the surface.
“Kolkata’s wicket was different; this is a road,” said Kuldeep Yadav
A total of 26 wickets had fallen over the first two days at the Eden Gardens, while in Guwahati, South Africa alone almost batted for 2 whole days. This in itself proves the difference between the two tracks.
“Kolkata’s wicket was different, this is a road,” said Kuldeep Yadav, who returned 4/115, at the press conference here on Sunday.
“It’s challenging, and that’s why it’s called a Test wicket. It doesn’t happen every day as a bowler. You always think of dominating, but when you get a good wicket, then it’s also very important how you come back. The way we bowled yesterday, we were in very good control, but obviously, in one session, there was a partnership, so we got a little behind in the game.
“It was a difficult wicket for the bowlers because I didn’t feel that there was a lot of help in this wicket; even for fast bowlers, it didn’t seem like a lot of help. But yes, this is Test cricket, and you should enjoy it. The more you learn, the more you mature; you shouldn’t think so much about the wicket.”
“After that, it was very good to bat on,” opined Kuldeep Yadav on Day 2’s wicket
The early morning pitch troubled the South African batters a bit, but with Senuran Muthusamy and Kyle Verreynne managing to keep the session wicketless, the game was entirely in their grip.
“Personally, I felt yesterday in the first session there was a bit of moisture in the wicket so I got a little bit of turn there. After that it was very good to bat on,” said Yadav. “There wasn’t any turn yesterday as well as today. Jadeja and I have been talking about it but the wicket is very good to bat on.”
Kuldeep Yadav also stated that a captain cannot always have just an attacking mindset, because many demanded that they should be attacked with more close-in fielders and longer spells for spinners.
“I mean, obviously it’s very good to have an attacking mindset, but you have to understand how the wicket is playing and you can’t just go attacking all the time and just leak runs,” he said.
“I mean for that I have to be the captain,” Kuldeep’s silent revolt against captains for limited overs with the ball
Every bowler bowled over 25 overs in the innings, but many were shocked as Kuldeep Yadav bowled not more than 12 overs on Day 2 despite being the most potent spinner. However, he looked content with what he was offered. He returned with figures of 4/115.
Could he have bowled more? Yadav smiled. “No, all good,” he said.
“I mean for that I have to be the captain and yes, I’m very happy with whatever number I bowled, we got 4-5 bowlers and everyone bowled really well. You have to keep changing and you can’t just keep bowling from one end, so I don’t have any issue with that. I bowled 30 overs (29.1); 30 overs is good for any wrist spinner,” added Kuldeep Yadav.