Kuldeep has taken 52 wickets so far in 17 first-class games to go with 49 strikes in List A and T20 cricket. He is currently working his way back from injury and his recovery is being monitored by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He played only two IPL games earlier this year and hasn’t played any competitive cricket since April.
In their quest to build a large pool of bowlers, especially pacers, the TNCA had recently launched a talent-hunt programme, casting their scouting nets wider. The shortlisted bowlers were subsequently part of camps in Chennai, Theni and Tiruppur.
Kulkarni had also overseen two preparatory camps in Coimbatore and Dindigul, ahead of the new domestic season. Kulkarni then attended games in the TNPL along with bowling coach L Balaji.
Vijay Shankar and M Shahrukh Khan will be the captains of the TNCA president’s XI and TNCA XI sides in the four-day Buchi Babu tournament that will run from August 15 to September 11 in the districts. Senior spinner R Ashwin has been rested while Washington Sundar will be on national duty in Dublin. Teams from Mumbai, Delhi, MP, Bengal, Haryana, Baroda, Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir will also compete in the tournament.