India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday stressed that the performance at the recently concluded Indian Premier League will not affect a player’s morale in the ongoing World Cup tournament. At a press conference in Southampton, the batsman was asked whether Kuldeep Yadav would be feeling underconfident after a poor showing in the lucrative T20 league.

In his response, the 30-year-old said: “I have had great IPL seasons. I have entered playing for India feeling I am going to dominate this tournament. But then I ended up struggling in putting bat to balls. Every tournament, every game that you play has no connection to the past.”

The right-handed batsman added that a player has to work hard in the World Cup, irrespective of how he performed in the IPL. “You can take the positives and the negatives and take it forward. But whether you have done well in IPL or have not, you have to work hard.”

Speaking on Kuldeep Yadav, the skipper said: “IPL has no connection to the World Cup. If you have done well, you would want to stay in the same zone. Kuldeep has done so well in the last two years for India. I don’t think 2-3 games in T20 games would harm his confidence.”

He further added: “We know when he pitches in the right areas, the batsmen would have to make the better decisions or he’d be walking out. He is back to bowling at his best. We saw it in the second practice game against Bangladesh. He is bowling well at the nets. He is attacking the stumps. His variations are spot-on. I see batsmen having to make better decisions against Yadav, than the other way round.”

India will open their World Cup campaign against South Africa on Wednesday.

First Published: Jun 04, 2019 19:55 IST