Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar took a cheeky jibe at Team India’s left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav on social media after his match-winning performance in the opening match of the Asia Cup 2025 against host UAE on Wednesday, September 10. After Kuldeep picked up three wickets in one over, Manjrekar took to social media ‘X’ to make a hilarious comment.
He cheekily wrote, “Kuldeep has 3 in one over. May not play the next game now.”
Kuldeep, who was recently part of India’s Test team for the England tour, did not play a single game. The left-arm chinaman spinner did not feature in India’s last 19 T20Is, with his last appearance coming in the T20 World Cup final win against South Africa in 2024.
Speaking about lack of game time in the recent months during the post-match presentation Kuldeep said, “It was tough for me. I was working on my bowling and my fitness as well and everything was going perfect tonight. The length matters a lot, reading the batters. Specially in this format, the length is the main thing and reading the batters and what they are trying to do. Reacting to what the batter was trying to do .”
India register record-breaking win over UAE
Kuldeep’s bowling masterclass saw India bowled out the UAE for just 57 runs in 13.1 overs. Shivam Dube also contributed with three wickets for four runs. India then chased down the target in only 4.3 overs, winning by nine wickets. Abhishek Sharma smashed 30 off 16 balls, while Shubman Gill remained unbeaten on 20.
This is the lowest total India have ever conceded in the history of T20I cricket, outdoing the previous lowest in a full match, which was 66 by New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 2023. This was also the second-quickest chase in a T20I match involving a full member nation of the ICC, with England’s 19-delivery destruction job against Oman in Antigua during last year’s World Cup taking top spot.