Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has recently said that Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has been going through a rough patch now, was short of confidence. He also added that playing Test cricket could help him get back in form as well.
Notably, he was dropped from the Test squad which will tour to England for the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and then the five-match Test series against England as well. Butt has shared that not getting to play many matches in the longer format has hampered Kuldeep’s rhythm. And, he also referred to him as a “quality bowler”. And, Butt believes that Kuldeep Yadav should get back to domestic cricket to get back in his rhythm.
“At times, lesser appearances in the longer format haunt you. When you keep playing the shorter formats continuously, your line and length tend to get affected because you’re always thinking of getting through your overs as soon as possible,” Butt said on his Youtube channel.
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“The longer format teaches you skill and control. Haven’t seen much of them in the Tests in the past. Ashwin and other spinners are usually preferred. I believe left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav is short on confidence. He can get the confidence, with which he used to bowl, back by playing the longest format. A good Ranji season will do him a world of good. Quality does not go anywhere, it is all about form,” Butt further added.
Earlier, Kuldeep Yadav was dropped from the ODI squad of the Test series against England at home. However, he returned for the ODIs and played two games before being dropped once again for the third game. In the two games Kuldeep played, he conceded 68 and 84 runs without claiming any wicket as well. And then, he failed to be in the playing eleven of the Kolkata Knight Riders before the league got postponed.
“If you’re playing regularly, you get an idea about the length and can quickly identify what length to bowl. But when you’re playing with breaks, the length may sometimes be a little up or short. If I work hard on my lengths, it will help me bowl better,” he further added.
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“The first game was very important as I was playing after a long time. I didn’t get into a good rhythm in that match. Had I been playing regularly, rhythm would not have been an issue. I made a good comeback after the first over [conceding 13 runs]. In the second game, I bowled better. It’s just that there was no assistance for spin on the pitch, so I didn’t get the desired results. On flat pitches, length is crucial. It was difficult for spinners in the ODIs, all went for runs,” he concluded.
