“He has to do a lot of work on his run up because you normally run straight to the stumps. He goes left, right, then left, then tries to come back to the crease, and that is where he is going wrong,” Maninder told The Indian Express.

“When he bowled those no balls, I was just wondering what was the bowling coach doing with Ravi Bishnoi. Because obviously he was bowling in the nets also in the same way. Why wasn’t he stopped? That should be the first job of a bowling coach. So I really don’t understand why he wasn’t being corrected when he was bowling in the nets that way. Because these days in white-ball cricket, bowling a no-ball is a crime,” he added.

The 61-year-old felt that Kuldeep Yadav’s lack of game time was more to do with the management’s lack of faith in him than a diminishing skill set.

“Sometimes your wicket-taking ability can go down if the team management is not showing confidence. I think he still has it in him. It’s just that if you keep him on the bench all the time and don’t give him chances to play, you don’t give him confidence.”

“There are some cricketers you need to keep talking to all the time. If you are not only keeping him out of the scheme of things but not even thinking of playing him in the first eleven, then these kinds of problems are going to come.”

“Because a bowler of his calibre, who was getting you wickets in the middle overs, suddenly starts going down, there has to be a reason for it. And the reason, I feel, is that he is not getting enough confidence from the team management.”

“That is the only problem. Everything else is the same. He used to bowl a little slower through the air a couple of years ago, but he has worked hard on it. Good follow-through. Using his shoulder well.”

“Using his body well. The only problem at the minute is that he needs confidence. If you keep taking his confidence away, then you start talking about release position, ball drift and everything else, which is secondary. If you give that man the confidence a cricketer requires, you will see him back among the wickets,” Maninder said.

The former India spinner also said India’s increasing preference for all-rounders has come at the expense of genuine match-winners, saying Kuldeep has also paid the price for the team wanting more batting depth.

“I am getting a little surprised with the way the teams are being selected. We are trying to have that cushion where we are extending our batting till number eight.”

“We are playing too many all-rounders. In white-ball cricket, all-rounders play a very important role. But at the cost of a match-winner, you cannot keep playing all-rounders just because you think they are going to give you performances. I would rather have a bowler who gets you wickets in the middle overs and keeps you in the game.”

“Or I would rather have a batter who can win you games. The definition of an all-rounder in India has changed. Now it means someone who can do a bit of batting, a bit of bowling and a bit of fielding.”

“Whereas my understanding of an all-rounder was Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar, Madan Lal and Roger Binny – players who could win you games on their own with either the bat or the ball,” Maninder said.

Maninder felt that Manav Suthar had the technical attributes to enjoy a long international career, saying the youngster looks “like a bowler for the future” after an impressive India Test debut against Afghanistan.

“Very impressive. He has got a beautiful run up, lovely action, nice follow-through. And the best thing is, when the ball comes out of the hand of a spinner, the seam position tells you how hard he has worked.”

“He looks to me like a bowler for the future. To be very honest, I was expecting him to be in some team or the other, whether it’s T20 cricket or One-Day International cricket. I don’t think he will have to wait for too long because he is a good bowler, technically very sound, and I think mentally he is ready for international cricket,” he said.

India vs Zimbabwe T20I series will be streamed on FanCode.

“Their team will be good in terms of preparation. They will have a good idea about the ground,” Iyer noted.

Ready to get going in Harare

Hear from Captain Shreyas Iyer on the excitement for the #ZIMvIND T20I series #TeamIndia | @ShreyasIyer15 pic.twitter.com/PvR9CHVoMd

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 22, 2026

The skipper said the lessons from India’s 0-4 T20I series defeat to England had reinforced the need for greater “presence of mind, awareness and adaptability” in overseas conditions.

“We had a rough patch in England. But a lot of positives came out of that. We got to know what we have to build as a team going forward, what kind of presence of mind, awareness, and adaptability we need once we step onto the field.

“This is going to be a great challenge for us. Some of us are playing for the first time, so the quicker we adapt, the better result we would have,” he said.

Iyer admitted that the turnaround between the ODI series in England and the Zimbabwe T20Is had been demanding. He was part of ODI series decider at Lord’s on Sunday, and would have to turn up for a game in a different continent after just a three-day gap.

“Not going to lie, it’s definitely very challenging. We came yesterday, today is practice, and tomorrow is the match again. It’s challenging but fun.”

Iyer also reflected on his own journey back from a serious injury, saying the rehabilitation period made him mentally stronger as he prepares to lead a young Indian side.

“It has made me more confident as an individual, because when you overcome the injury phase, it makes you very positive.

“You work on your skills, you work on your strengths and weaknesses, and I have this feeling that when you overcome this barrier as an individual, it makes you stronger as a person, and whatever challenges you face on the field, you know you can overcome it quickly,” the right-hander said.

“There can be ups and downs, but the quicker you analyse, and the quicker you execute stuff the way you want to, you are in a great space of mind, and at the end of the day, it’s beneficial for the team as well,” he added.