Kuldeep Yadav has been one of the pivotal contributors in the ongoing Test series against England. When the whole attention was on Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep set sights on giving the English batters a run for their money in the Dharamshala Test.

The chinaman bowler let his ball do the talking not just in the fifth Test but also in the second, third, and fourth Tests. It’s always a painful feeling of getting dropped despite performing well and Kuldeep Yadav has been through this phase many times before, which has become quite normal for him.

He gets dropped due to team combination or the match situations, but never frets about lost opportunities and has made every opportunity count. Notably, he has taken Test cricket seriously over the years by focusing on the process of what lengths he should be bowling.

What sets him apart is his outstanding googlies that were, in fact, unreadable by right-handers at times. He has shown zeal and passion to give everything for the team, a trait that is crucial for any player representing the country. Without saying much, Kuldeep has performed well as a silent contributor, and sadly, he doesn’t get the accolades he deserves.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has earlier stated that the think-tank will give opportunities to players who have the hunger to play Tests. Meanwhile, Kuldeep personified the skipper's remark with compelling performances against England.

The Kanpur man has accounted for 17 dismissals in the series so far despite being in the shadows of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The left-arm spinner who made his Test debut against Australia in Dharamshala brought the best out of himself at the same venue by taking an impressive fifer against England.

Having played 12 Tests, he has taken 51 wickets, laced with four fifers. Notably, the left-arm wrist-spinner has the best strike rate among spinners in Test cricket (minimum 50 wickets) with 36.8. The 29-year-old still has plenty of years of cricket left in him and is seen as the future of the spin unit.