‘Carry the same intensity’ - Kuldeep Yadav’s dressing-room call after IND vs BAN win puts India in the Asia Cup final

Mayank Bande

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‘Carry the same intensity’ - Kuldeep Yadav’s dressing-room call after IND vs BAN win puts India in the Asia Cup final image

(getty)

Having warmed the bench for all five Tests in England, Kuldeep Yadav returned to India's playing XI for the Asia Cup with renewed motivation to grab his opportunities by both hands.

Upon his return, the left-arm wrist spinner has managed to be India's stand-out bowler with 12 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 8.08 and economy of just 5.65 — his best of 4/7 came in India's tournament opener against UAE in Dubai.

After impressive performances in all five matches, he has guided India to another final of the Asia Cup, with Bangladesh or Pakistan set to play a virtual semi-final.

As India looks to retain their continental title, the 30-year-old has given a special pep-talk to the dressing room.

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'Carry the intensity': Kuldeep Yadav’s pep-talk ahead of Asia Cup final

In a video posted by the BCCI on its socials, Kuldeep was named as India's impact player of the match against Bangladesh, which helped India seal the final berth.

While defending India's 168 on the night, Kuldeep scalped 3/18 in his four overs, which included the dangerous Parvez Hossain Emon, followed by Rishad Hossain and Tanzim Sakib.

The biggest takeaway from his speech was the emphasis on the intensity that India has shown in its unbeaten run to the final, steamrolling every opposition on its way.

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"Overall, it was a good game, I thought. With the ball, obviously, you said it earlier, Hardik and Bumrah were excellent, and as a spinner our job is to control the middle overs and pick the middle order wickets. We did really well and yeah, just. I think overall the intensity was good. Just carry the same intensity in the next game," Kuldeep said in BCCI's video.

Ahead of India's clash against Sri Lanka, Kuldeep is the tournament's highest-wicket taker, with the next best being UAE's Junaid Siddique with 9 wickets to his name.

Up next, they face Sri Lanka in their final Super Fours fixture on September 25 before the final against the winner of the Pakistan vs Bangladesh match on Thursday night.

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Mayank Bande

Mayank Bande has been a content producer at The Sporting News since 2023 and has extensive experience in cricket writing. His work has previously appeared on platforms like OneCricket and Last Word on Sports. Beyond cricket, Mayank closely follows football as an FC Barcelona supporter, along with tennis and Olympic sports. Despite holding a degree in Business Administration, he chose to pursue a career in sports, bringing sharp analysis to his writing as someone who once played cricket.