Went blank when I was handed the Test cap, reveals Kuldeep Yadav

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Left-arm Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav has revealed that he went blank the moment he received the Test cap during his debut against Australia in the 2017 match in Dharamsala.

"I was blank when I got my Test cap. I didn't know what was happening and what others were speaking because it was the biggest moment of my life," Kuldeep said while speaking with Mayank Agarwal and Yuzvendra Chahal on the series 'Open Nets with Mayank' hosted by bcci.tv.

"I remember (David) Warner was my first Test scalp and it was a huge moment in my life.

"I got emotional because it's a dream to play Test cricket for India. And on the first day itself, I got the wicket. So, that was like icing on the cake. That's why I got a bit emotional," he added.

In that match, the left-arm chinaman picked up four wickets and played a crucial role as India won the match by eight wickets.

Kuldeep also talked about his second ODI hat-trick which came against the West Indies in December 2019 in Visakhapatnam. "It was a very important milestone in my life. It was after a long time after the World Cup that we were playing as either me or Chahal used to play in a match. So, I was making a return to the ODI side after a long gap."

Kuldeep had taken the wickets of Shai Hope, Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph as the tweaker became the first Indian bowler to take two hat-tricks in ODI cricket.

"I had the belief that I would be able to take the hat-trick as lower-order batsmen were on the crease," he recalled.

"This hat-trick will always remain extra special for me."

The 25-year-old also talked about Chahal's jolly nature and said: "As far as I have known Chahal, one thing is sure that he is never serious. Maybe, only while bowling he remains serious, else all the time he is enjoying, cracking jokes and having fun. And it's important to have such a character in the team."

During the conversation, both Chahal and Kuldeep talked about their routine in the lockdown and how they have spending time at home with their families.