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As a spinner himself, Kuldeep Yadav has always regarded the late Shane Warne as his idol and has previously spoken about the significant influence the late legend had on his bowling style. On Friday the Indian leggie paid tribute to his idol with a heartwarming message on Instagram.
"Bowling Shane.... Always & Forever." the message from Kuldeep read. https://www.instagram.com/p/C-_0DKevsrh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link During the initial phase of his career, Kuldeep grew up as a pacer and Pakistan's iconic speedster Wasim Akram was his idol as a youngster. He switched to becoming a spinner when his coach advised him to try and emulate Australia's legendary spinner Shane Warne. In an earlier episode of the ICC Review, Kuldeep opened up about how Warne would often give him advice about spin bowling before his death last year. Even now, Kuldeep looks at the old videos of the former Australia spinner seeking to gain some extra inspiration. "If there is any doubt (with how I am bowling), I look at his old action. I feel I am very lucky to have spent some time with him and to have been his good friend. I used to watch him on the television and observed how he used to dismiss the batters and his planning. He was quite strong mentally. When I played in Sydney, he helped me quite a bit. I learnt my bowling from him and he is the person I have followed forever," Kuldeep was quoted as saying in ICC Review. Kuldeep has played a total of 12 Test matches for India, taking 53 wickets, with his best figures being 5/40. He made his Test debut against Australia in Dharamsala, where he impressed by claiming 4 wickets for 68 runs in the first innings. Looking ahead, Kuldeep is gearing up for the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is set to start on November 22 at Optus Stadium in Perth. The second Test, scheduled for December 6-10 at the Adelaide Oval, will feature the exciting day-night format under the stadium lights. Following that, attention will shift to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test, to be played from December 14-18. The traditional Boxing Day Test will take place from December 26-30 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, serving as the penultimate stage of the series. The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3-7, providing a fitting climax to what promises to be an exhilarating series. India will aim to continue their impressive record in Australia, having won the last two series held there in 2018-19 and 2020-21. A series win this time would mark a historic hat-trick of victories on Australian soil. (ANI)
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