T20 World Cup 2024 | "It is a team effort overall": Kuldeep Yadav's coach hails Team India

Kuldeep Yadav bites his winner’s medal. Pic/Getty Images

Kuldeep Yadav's Kanpur-based coach Kapil Dev Pandey had nothing but wholesome praise for the way Team India captain Rohit Sharma handled the bowling resources in varied conditions on his way to lifting the T20 World Cup in Barbados on Saturday night. "His handling of the bowlers, especially in the final, made all the difference. When he realised the Bridgetown pitch had become too flat, he used up the quota of spinners early and then beautifully manipulated the three pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya at the fag-end to stop South Africa's victory march much to the delight of millions of Indian cricket fans worldwide," coach Pandey said.

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Kapil Dev Pandey

Pandey's ward Kuldeep had been outstanding in the three Super 8 matches and the semi-final. He claimed figures of 2-32 v Afghanistan, 3-19 v Bangladesh, 2-24 v Australia and 3-19 v England in the semi-final to provide excellent support to the bowling unit during the crucial phase of the tournament. However, he was not only expensive, but also went wicketless (0-45) in the final. Pandey said despite his wicketless effort, he was satisfied with the performance of the left-arm wrist spinner. "You can see how effective he was in the matches leading up to the title clash. Just because he was not as good in the final, his overall contribution cannot be undermined. The pitch had become too flat in the second half as the ball was not gripping the surface.

"Even Axar [Patel] found it difficult to contain the flow of runs and conceded 24 runs in an over. Kuldeep had given away just six runs in his first over, the last in the Powerplay. Here, I would give credit to captain Rohit who used the pace bowlers judiciously when it seemed the match was slipping out of India's hands," Pandey said.

The coach added: "Look, one can't expect a player to perform in every game. If you are not bowling or batting well, you can contribute by fielding well. The catch Kuldeep calmly took to dismiss Quinton de Kock under pressure was his contribution. SKY [Suryakumar Yadav], who had not done much with the bat, took an outstanding catch to send back David Miller. So, you can see every player contributed in their own little way. Look at Virat Kohli's contribution after being clueless in the matches before the final. That's why, to me, it is a team effort overall and no player can be given sole credit for helping Team India win the T20 crown."