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After bowling 'the ball of the IPL' to Virat Kohli, LSG's Prince Yadav picks wicket on India T20I debut against Ireland originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Prince Yadav debuts for India after dismissing Virat Kohli in IPL 2026.
- The LSG pacer's maiden wicket in T20Is was the Irish captain Lorcan Tucker.
- Kohli revealed he personally advised Prince on bowling lengths and lines.
- Kohli explained why he mentors young cricketers despite getting out himself.
Prince Yadav earns India cap after stunning Virat Kohli dismissal
Prince Yadav was handed his senior India debut against Ireland on Sunday evening after he made a name for himself by picking the wicket of Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League 2026.
Yadav's name first grabbed attention on May 7, when he produced a superb delivery that nipped back sharply from a good length to clean up Kohli for a two-ball duck, helping LSG edge past Royal Challengers Bengaluru by nine runs at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Afterward, Prince revealed that Kohli himself had spoken to him and advised him to stick consistently to a good length while making the ball move away outside off stump.
"After the last match I was talking to Virat bhaiya and he only told me - as long as it's moving around off a length, stick to that length," Prince had said.
Now, during the toss of the 2nd T20I, Niall O'Brien asked: "Prince bowled the ball of the IPL for Lucknow to get rid of the great Virat Kohli. What can the fans expect to see from Prince Yadav?"
India captain Shreyas Iyer replied: "Definitely it's his first game, so I don't want to put him under that much pressure. It's important that he comes out here and experiences it and gains the experience out of what is there to offer. He must have seen the match, how we played in the previous game. Definitely he's smart enough to adapt to it."
During the match, Yadav scalped his maiden wicket in his second over, dismissing Ireland's captain Lorcan Tucker with a back-of-a-length ball outside off stump delivery. Tucker only managed a thin outside edge and was caught by the wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan.
Yadav finished with 3/22 in his four over on India debut.
MORE: India name two T20I debutants for the 2nd T20I against Ireland while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi waits for his chance
Kohli's bond with Prince was built while playing domestic cricket
Kohli revealed that his connection with Prince actually began earlier, during the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite season, where he initially had no idea who the young pacer was. He described Prince as someone who looks intense on the field but is genuinely warm and funny off it.
"So people don't know. I went and played Vijay Hazare. I didn't know Prince at all. So because he, you know, on the field he feels like he's very intense. And he's such a sweet guy," he said during an RCB podcast.
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An absolute peach of a delivery from the young fast bowler to rattle the stumps
Updateshttps://t.co/W0eDq9aWb7#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #LSGvRCB | @LucknowIPLpic.twitter.com/YlxbQO9Oma
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 7, 2026
"And he's so funny. Because Ishant was there as well. And Ishant knows him. So I got very close to him. And he opened up really nicely to me. So I was telling him even on those times, you know, even through those Vijay Hazare games, standing and mid-off covers, whatever, what to do, where to bowl. You have to share experience."
MORE: India's 1983 World Cup hero shares valuable advice for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Kohli explained that he doesn't hesitate to help opposition bowlers improve, even when it costs him his own wicket. He pointed out that no player lasts forever in the sport, and if youngsters get the chance to learn and sharpen their skills early, it eventually strengthens Indian cricket as a whole.
"You're not going to be here forever. And if people have the opportunity to learn and get better in their careers, eventually who gets help? If all these guys play well, eventually they play for India. The standard of cricket remains high," he said.
"He bowled a great ball to me. And I told him to bowl in those areas. It's fine. You know, because people are so connected to me, they feel like, 'He gave advice, but he couldn't even save himself from getting out."
Kohli summed up his philosophy by saying cricket shouldn't suffer because senior players hoard their experience.
"So you don't want to see a situation where tomorrow the standards are dropping. If you can help someone to get to their potential best, then their best version will eventually help Indian cricket. That's the progress I see," Kohli said.
Prince reaping the benefits of Kohli's advice
For Prince, that mentorship has already paid early dividends as he picked his first international wicket in his second over when he dismissed Lorcan Tucker.
It was a length delivery, just bowled on the fourth stump, and the Irish skipper edged it to the keeper.
Prince could have had his second, only if he had held on to the catch of Tector in the same over.
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