Former Pakistan cricketer and legend of the game Shoaib Akhtar recalled a conversation with an Indian player who approached him and left the Pakistani pacer stunned with his awareness and knowledge of the sport. Speaking to sportskeeda, Akhtar revealed that the player was none other than Delhi Capitals (DC) spinner Kuldeep Yadav, and the 27-year-old left him amazed while also feeling weird since Kuldeep had hardly played any games for India then.
“I first met Kuldeep Yadav at the Dubai Airport where he approached to talk to me. And I was really surprised by his cricketing knowledge. He answered and spoke about everything correctly. I was highly impressed and happy that this kid who came up to me had so much knowledge and game awareness as well.
"I felt weird because he just played 5-10 matches for India and he is already so aware of the game. I was surprised to see the Indian system that kids here are really smart,” he said.
According to Akhtar, Kuldeep answered all the answers correctly leaving the pacer surprised after he learnt how much knowledge of the game the DC spinner had. “In fact I asked him a lot about the legalities and nitty-gritty of cricket and he answered all of them correctly. Then I told him that I was just asking these questions to check if you have a cricketing brain or you are just a talented bowler," Akhtar reminisced.
Kuldeep starred in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but after a couple of underwhelming seasons, he moved to DC for Rs 2.0 Crores. The left-arm wrist-spinner is also the second-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing IPL season, with 11 dismissals in five matches so far.
In Delhi's last match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kuldeep was expensive for his side, giving away 46 runs and picking up just one wicket as they went on to lose by 16 runs.