Gautam Gambhir, who has led left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav for Kolkata Knight Riders since 2014, believes that his strongest attribute is his consistency of length. Kuldeep made a sparkling Test debut in Dharamsala, claiming figures of 4 for 68 in the first innings.
Although Kuldeep has played just three IPL matches for the Knight Riders over three years, Gambhir said he has the skill-sets to have success at the elite levels of the game.
"From a skills point of view, he is pretty consistent," Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo. "If he bowls a bad ball, it is usually a fuller ball. He hardly bowls a short delivery. That kind of consistency for a wristspinner is a massive quality to have. If you have to mistake you'd much rather make it fuller than shorter. He hardly bowls long-hops which is a big quality to have.
"He started his Test career on a very good note and hopefully he can continue to the same way because people can talk too much about him. At times if you start talking too much about a young boy, you can stop enjoying the game. I am not surprised with what he did in the first innings at Dharamsala because he's got a great temperament. I realised whenever he played for us that he's someone who is not scared of getting hit. Kuldeep has a big heart, that is what you look for in any spinner who wants to go on and play for India. Hopefully he can play for a very long time, just let him enjoy his game and express himself."
Kuldeep will join Gambhir and his Knight Riders team-mates in Kolkata at the end of the Dharmsala Test, ahead of the tenth IPL season which starts on April 5. Knight Riders begin their campaign in Rajkot on April 7 against Gujarat Lions. Having won the title twice since Gambhir took over in 2011, in 2012 and 2014, Knight Riders finished fifth in 2015 and were knocked out in the playoffs last year.
Gambhir believes that as opposed to earlier years, conditions over the previous two seasons at the Eden Gardens have favoured seam over spin. Knight Riders picked up three international fast bowlers at the 2017 player auction - Trent Boult, Nathan Coulter Nile and Chris Woakes. Gambhir is also hopeful that Woakes can bring in the skills to compensate for the loss of Andre Russell, who is serving a one-year ban for a doping code violation.
"We have made tactical changes this year," Gambhir said. "Hopefully, these guys can live up to their reputation. Someone like Boult can be very useful for us who can swing the ball up front at a reasonable pace. We have strengthened our attack with pace, I thought we made a very sensible move at the auction.
"We felt last year that wickets weren't that helpful for spinners. Someone like Sunil Narine is a big threat in any conditions but we realised that there wasn't a lot of help for our spinners so we went for genuine fast bowlers. We have someone like Umesh Yadav and Ankit Rajpoot and three quality foreign fast bowlers as well. Our bowling attack is really good and hopefully we can utilise that."
Gambhir will also be keen to make a strong statement at the IPL with the bat. Gambhir was recalled to the Indian Test team earlier this season and managed 29 and 50 in his comeback Test in Indore against New Zealand. He followed that up with 29 and 0 against England in Rajkot before he was left out.
"You can't expect someone who is making a comeback after two years to suddenly make a hundred," Gambhir said. "The first thing you are trying to do is contribute and give a decent start to the team and I was pretty okay from that point of view. Obviously I would have liked to score a hundred but sometimes you have to be reasonable from your own expectations point of view as well. I need to be realistic. No regrets. Obviously, I could have got some more Test matches, but that's okay, whatever opportunity you get to represent your country that is a massive honour.
"I strongly believe that I can keep performing. The only thing I can do is control things that I can control. I look forward to keep performing at whatever platform, whether its Ranji trophy, IPL or playing for India. You should not be thinking about the rest."
Towards the end of the season, Gambhir was also involved in an ugly fracas with Delhi coach KP Bhaskar. Gambhir insists that he has "no regrets" about the episode where he accused Bhaskar of "creating an atmosphere of uncertainty" in the dressing room.
"A lot of things happen in a dressing room behind closed doors," Gambhir said. "If you are mature individuals, you should keep it inside the dressing room. It is supposed to be a very sacred and confidential place. So whatever happens within the dressing room you should be mature enough to handle it there, rather than getting it into the media. But if someone has got it into the media, we will handle it the way it is. If you believe in something very strongly, you will never regret it. I stood for something that I believed was right, so why would I regret it."