Spin coach backs Kuldeep Yadav despite modest return in Galle Test

After a quiet performance in the opening Test at Galle, where Kuldeep Yadav claimed just one wicket in 25 overs, India’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule publicly supported the left-arm wrist spinner. Bahutule explained that the soft Kookaburra ball and the specific conditions forced Kuldeep into a different role, requiring constant adjustments to speed and line. He contrasted the challenges faced by wrist spinners with the relative ease finger spinners have in such conditions.

The coach emphasized that a single game does not define Kuldeep's overall ability and reiterated his confidence in the bowler’s match-winning potential ahead of the second Test in Colombo. Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar, meanwhile, accounted for the majority of the wickets in Galle.