Kuldeep is blessed with a lot of skills, says B Arun

India spinner Kuldeep Yadav celebrates his fifer in Sydney yesterday. Pic/AFP

From being the forgotten man in Perth, Kuldeep Yadav has made a strong case for himself with a five-wicket haul in his maiden Test in Australia. The left-arm wrist-spinner only made it to the XI for the SCG Test because lead tweaker R Ashwin was injured, but immediately showed what he can bring to the table with figures of five for 99 in Australia's first innings of the final Test.

Kuldeep's second five-for in the longer version was instrumental in consigning Australia to their first follow-on on home patch in 31 years, and has put India in a realistic position of completing a 3-1 series rout. The hosts, trailing by 322 in the first innings, need to bat around 98 overs on the final day to keep the scoreline down to 1-2, though it can be safely assumed now that India will definitely complete their first series win in Australia.

India bowling coach B Arun was delighted with the strides Kuldeep has made as a red-ball exponent. "Kuldeep is a very skillful bowler, as he has proved," the former Indian paceman said of Kuldeep, 24.

"He had a very successful stint in one-dayers, probably is the No. 1 in the one-day format. He is blessed with a lot of skills; is unique in the sense that there are very few Chinaman bowlers at the moment. Also, he can bowl the googly very well. What makes him even more special is his ability to use the crease. He can bowl from over and round the wicket, from closer to the wicket and also wide of the crease. That gives him a lot variety. There is a lot to come from that young kid.

Arun continued: "He is mentally strong. He is young, he will learn. This is a great experience for him. He didn't have a great outing in England when he played [at Lord's], but this Test will give him a lot of confidence. And considering a spinner and his age, he has got a lot of cricket left in him."

Also read: Kuldeep Yadav motivated to learn from seniors R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja

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