Kuldeep Yadav went through a rough patch in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year.
Kuldeep Yadav, who was expected to share India’s spin attack in the 2019 ICC World Cup in England, went through a rough patch in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year. His poor run of form had become a cause of worry not only for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but also Team India.
Talking about his poor run last year, the left-arm spinner admitted that he lacked a few skills and was also affected by not getting a consistent chance in the team.
“I prepared really well before leaving for the World Cup 2019 because I wanted to overcome my failure in IPL that year. Even though I didn’t pick up many wickets, I think I bowled well at the World Cup,” he told Deep Dasgupta in the latest episode of Cricketbaazi on ESPNCricinfo.
“After that I have been in and out of the team. If you are playing regularly, your confidence is high. If not, you are always under pressure to perform in the chances you get and your mind stays cluttered. I probably was at fault with my skills as well.”
On his partnership with fellow spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, Yadav said, “He has always taken care of me, like an elder brother. Even now, after playing so many matches together, even off the field, he gives me advice on cricket as well as off cricket.”
“He supports me, and this bond is visible on the field as well. We’ve never had a competition between us, irrespective of which of us gets picked to play. In the last year or so, only one of us has gotten to play at a time.
“He always used to say that we have to pick up three or four wickets in the middle overs. This has always been our plan and it used to be easy when MS Dhoni was behind the stumps.”
Dhoni, is someone whose presence Yadav continues to miss. “When I started my career, I wasn’t good at reading the pitch. I learnt about this aspect after I started playing with MS Dhoni. He would often tell me when I needed to spin the ball or where I needed to pitch it.
“Dhoni was very good at setting the field as well. That’s why I never paid attention to field placement when I bowled with Dhoni keeping the wicket. He would understand where the batsman could try to hit me and set the field accordingly.
“It helped me bowl with more confidence…since the time he has not played ODI cricket, this has gone missing as well.”