India’s legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble wants to see pacer Prince Yadav making his ODI debut in the ODI series opener against Afghanistan. Kumble pointed out that Prince bowled tough overs for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) with the new ball and the old in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. He feels that the young pacer has 'strong temperament' and has performances in domestic cricket to show it. He doesn’t want Yadav to be on the bench in the ODI series.
"Yes, I am very happy with Prince Yadav's inclusion in the squad. Now that he has been picked, he should be given a chance in the playing XI. Prince Yadav delivered a very good performance in the IPL. He bowled those tough overs for Lucknow Super Giants, in the powerplay and at the death, without letting the pressure get to him. That shows his strong temperament. He has also performed well in domestic cricket," Kumble said on JioStar.
"His bowling has variety. He has good cutters, effective slower balls, and his yorkers are accurate. So, I see him as an all-phase bowler, someone who can be trusted in any situation. Now that he is in the squad, the team management should give him a proper run. He needs game time to build confidence and cement his spot. You don't pick a player like that and leave him on the bench," he added.
Prince’s impressive numbers
Prince claimed 16 wickets from 14 games for LSG in IPL 2026. He got the wicket of Virat Kohli who backed him to play for India soon. Prince had also expressed his desire to play in the ODI World Cup 2027 alongside Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Prince has played 14 List A games and bagged 29 wickets at an average of 20.31, including a four-fer.
2 other young guns waiting for debut too
The first ODI of the series against Afghanistan is scheduled to be played on June 13 at Dharamsala's HPCA Stadium. Not just Prince, there are two other bowlers in the lineup — Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey — who are yet to make their international debut. Brar and Dubey were part of the Test squad as well but did not get their debut caps.