Mohammad Kaif may not be in association with any of the 10 cricket franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season, but that did not stop him from backing Kuldeep Yadav and voicing the kind of mismanagement he faced whilst being a part of Kolkata Knight Riders till the 2021 season.

Kaif, the former India batter and an elite-level fielder, knows a thing or two about spotting talent. The 41-year old spent four seasons with the Delhi Capitals, and during his three-year spell between 2019 and 2021, he worked closely with some of the franchise's rising players. Despite the fact that he is no longer affiliated with the team or any other IPL organisation for that matter, Kaif recognises when a skill is underutilised.

He commented about one of Delhi Capitals' heroes of the evening, Kuldeep Yadav, as the team got off to a great start in IPL 2022 with a four-wicket win over Mumbai Indians.

A post shared by Delhi Capitals (@delhicapitals)

Rohit Sharma, Anmolpreet Singh, and Kieron Pollard were all dismissed by the left-arm wrist spinner in four overs. This is in stark contrast to last season when Kuldeep was relegated to the KKR's bench and did not appear in a single match. 

Kaif questioned KKR's treatment of Kuldeep, claiming that given the way the franchise treated him, Kuldeep's bowling and form were likely to plummet.

Kuldeep Yadav has expressed his displeasure in clear terms.#IPL2021 #KKR pic.twitter.com/6KrqbnFsiN

In a conversation with Sportskeeda, Kaif gave insight into whatever was going on in Yadav’s mind when he was struggling to get a spot within the KKR Playing XI on a daily basis over multiple years. 

According to the now-retired cricketer, Kuldeep Yadav has a track record of winning matches. However, he is someone who must be well managed. He's a little emotional, and if he doesn't get the bowling or is dropped from the squad, he'll be upset. He was made to sit at home and not even in the team at KKR when Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan were captains. After Capitals’ first match of the season, even the fans agreed with what Kaif had to say and shamed KKR for not recognising Yadav’s greatness.

Even during IPL 2020, Kuldeep's time with KKR was restricted to just five games, during which he only took one wicket. The fact that KKR did not have faith in Kuldeep's ability was reflected in his performance in India. The chinaman spinner, who was once the backbone of India's spin department in limited-overs cricket and is the only Indian bowler to record two hat-tricks in ODIs, has gradually drifted out of contention for the national squad and even lost his annual BCCI contract.

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