IPL 2022: Kuldeep Yadav did not get enough opportunities at KKR, says Ricky Ponting

Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting has said Kuldeep Yadav did not get the "opportunity that he should have got" at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Kuldeep, who made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut in 2016, was drafted by KKR in 2014. The Chinaman spinner had been part of the KKR setup for a long time until 2021. He was KKR's leading spinners alongside Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla before things changed for him in 2020. He played only five games for KKR in IPL 2020 before being ignored for the entire 2021 season.

At the end of the IPL 2021, Kuldeep was released from KKR before he was picked by DC at the mega auction earlier this year. DC signed Kuldeep at INR 2 crore and the spinner has justified the belief the team has shown in him with his consistent performances in the ongoing tournament.

Kuldeep is the joint-second highest wicket taker in IPL 2022, alongside Avesh Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, and T. Natarajan. The trio has picked up 11 wickets each. While Hasaranga and Natarajan have bagged 11 wickets in six games, Kuldeep has done so in five games.

"Kuldeep is really thriving in the environment that we are creating around him. We were very keen to get him in the auctions. Obviously at KKR in a couple of seasons, with the quality of spinners they had with Chakravarthy, Narine, and even Shakib, he was unable to get the opportunity that he should have got. He is one of the leading spinners in the IPL and has been playing for his country," Ponting said in a post-match conference.

Ponting's comments came after DC's 16-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2022 on Saturday. It was Kuldeep who dismissed an in-fire Glenn Maxwell at Wankhede Stadium. The RCB middle-order batsman had struck seven fours and two sixes before Kuldeep dismissed him in the 12th over.

Even DC captain Rishabh Pant praised Kuldeep for his bowling against RCB.

"I think Warner batted beautifully and gave us every chance to win the match. Can't blame Marsh, it was his first match and looked a bit rusty, but we could have done better in the middle overs. The wicket got better and better as the innings went along, that over from Mustafizur was a game-changer for us.

I think we could bowl according to our plans, but we were under the pump, the way DK batted in the later overs was commendable. One boundary length was shorter and every batter was targeting it, so I changed Kuldeep's end and he bowled really well. We will have to talk about doing better as a team, we'll have to learn from our mistakes in the coming games," said Pant after his side's defeat on Saturday.

DC have managed to secure two wins in their five games in IPL 2022. Their next game is against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Wednesday at MCA Stadium, Pune.