"He guided me as a leader and taught me everything" - Kuldeep Yadav on Gautam Gambhir

Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has spoken about former skipper Gautam Gambhir's role in his development during his early days with the franchise.

Kuldeep Yadav was a part of the Mumbai Indians squad in the 2012 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) but couldn't get any chances.

Following a stellar performance in the 2014 U-19 World Cup where he picked up a hat-trick, Yadav was snapped up by KKR in that year's IPL auction.

Speaking in a video on KKR's official Facebook page, Kuldeep Yadav explained what he learnt from different experienced players in the KKR squad, particularly the then captain Gautam Gambhir.

"I was a senior player during the 2014 U19 World Cup and performances happened exactly according to expectations. From there I was selected for KKR and life changed drastically. I got plenty of time in KKR. There were a lot of senior players, especially Gautam Gambhir," Kuldeep Yadav said.

Kuldeep Yadav stated that Gambhir mentored him brilliantly when the spinner came into the KKR side as an inexperienced youngster.

"I always keep thanking him. He guided me as a leader and taught me everything. Even before I was about to play in the Champions League, he advised me what to bowl, how to hone my skills and become a confident player," he further added.

The first season with KKR would always be important to me: Kuldeep Yadav

When Kuldeep Yadav came to KKR, the side was already loaded with world-class spinners like Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Shakib-al-Hasan, etc.

Thus, it was natural that the youngster would warm the bench for the entire 2014 IPL season.

"In my first season with KKR, I was a youngster and our team was packed with the likes of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and we had a few more good spinners in our squad," Kuldeep Yadav noted.

However, the young spinner wasn't disheartened by the lack of game time. He realized that it was the right time for him to get better as a bowler by learning from these established stars.

He also believes KKR groomed him well when he was a newcomer and that has really helped him in his career so far.

"I always felt that it was a good time for me to learn and get better. I was coming out of my U-19 days. As KKR have always backed youngsters, they took good care of me. So that first season would always be important for me," he further added.

Kuldeep Yadav has just played 14 matches in the last two IPL seasons and has picked up a mere five wickets. However, the KKR franchise have shown faith in him by retaining him ahead of IPL 2021.

The 26-year-old will be keen to make a mark for his team this season and prove why he is such a quality bowler.