23-years old Indian left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav has a great start in his international career. Now he credited Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli and the team support staff for guiding every player.
In a recent interview with Sportstar, Kuldeep quoted, “The support staff and the captain should be credited for protecting every player. They gave us enough chances to prove ourselves. 2017 was my best year. I got whatever I thought I would and I picked up wickets on every surface. I hope to continue the process in 2018. I want to improve as a cricketer, as well as a human being. I want to live with everyone and play as a team.”
In the recently ended six-match ODI bilateral series on the South African soil, where India clinched the trophy by the 1-5 margin, Kuldeep picked up total 17 wickets and ended up as the most wicket-taker in the series. Talking about his consistency good performances, He said, “I didn’t try anything new. I stuck to basics and bowled my normal deliveries. As an individual, it was a great experience to perform in South Africa. As a team, it was even better. It is a good feeling if you perform and the team wins.”
He has a good bowling partnership along with another Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. The 27-years old leggie took 16 wickets in the same ODI series on the South Africa tour. Speaking about their solid chemistry in bowling, Kuldeep said, “I have played a lot of cricket with Chahal. In limited-overs cricket, it is important to bowl in partnerships. The middle overs are crucial. Our plan has always been to plot breakthroughs. The best part is that we back each other. There is no pressure or any sense of competition.”
Also read: Tendulkar feels Kuldeep and Chahal will help India to perform better overseasThe chinaman also added, “We keep talking all the time. We talk about field placements, how to read a particular batsman’s mind and place a fielder for him at a suitable position. These conversations happen during matches as well as at the nets. The more we bowl in partnership, the more it gets easy.”
Speaking about his guidance for his rare chinaman bowling, Kuldeep revealed, “I was fortunate to have spent time with Brad Hogg (former Australia chinaman bowler) in the KKR camp in the initial years. He taught me the wrong ’uns and told me a lot about variations in this style and how it could be implemented. I also worked hard with my coach, Kapil Pandey, and Narendra Hirwani (former India leg-spinner).”
Also read: Brad Hogg praised the student Kuldeep Yadav
India has now two next big challenges as they will tour in England and Australia this year. However, Kuldeep is not thinking that much as he is now focusing on IPL. He said, “I never think that much. The England tour will be challenging but I don’t want to take that pressure now. I will think about it after the IPL.”
In IPL, Kuldeep Yadav is playing for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) since 2014. He gained lots of success in this tournament playing for KKR. Talking about his team KKR, Kuldeep commented, “They are now like a family. I have spent four years with them. It is a good feeling to stay connected to a team. Gauti bhai (former skipper Gautam Gambhir) supported me a lot. It feels good that I will continue with KKR.”
In the 2018 IPL Auction, KKR used RTM to retain the chinaman bowler. While Gautam Gambhir returned to Delhi Daredevils for IPL 2018, Dinesh Karthik has been selected as new KKR captain for IPL 2018.
Speaking about his new captain, Kuldeep said, “DK bhai and I have known each other for a long time. We have a good understanding. I am sure he will lead the team well and get us to a good position. He is a good man”
Talking about the new youngsters in the KKR squad for this season like Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shubman Gill etc, Kuldeep quoted, “They have always promoted youngsters. It leads to a great environment.”
