Yadav: Don’t depend on pitch to take wkts
However flat a wicket, don’t expect Kuldeep Yadav to shy away. The chinaman bowler, who on his recent India debut in the fourth Test against Australia in Dharamsala returned 4-68, does not rely on the behaviour of the 22-yard strip to take wickets.
“I bowl wicket to the wicket. Since childhood, I have tried to spin the ball on cement. My coach (Kapil Pandey) helped me a lot. I don’t see the pitch and bowl. I back my skills to get wickets,” Kuldeep said.
Referring to his debut last month when the 22-year-old Kanpur boy removed opener David Warner for his first Test wicket, Kuldeep said he did not think of how the wicket will behave after bowling his first delivery.
“I had butterflies in my stomach while fielding. I was playing Australia and it was my first cap. I was nervous. I was excited too.
“After I bowled my first ball, I felt a bit okay. It was a first day wicket and had no turn. But I never thought of it. As I said, I have bowled a lot on cement wickets so that I could get an idea of how to be effective on the flattest of tracks.
“The wicket does not matter to me. When there is no assistance (from the wicket) I have to bowl with more patience and keep trying to turn the ball,” he said.
Kuldeep was India’s leading wicket taker in the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup in Dubai, where he also became the first Indian to get a hattrick in the particular agegroup World Cup. He will now play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL starting April 5.
“I want to express myself in the IPL. In the IPL you feel pressurised as there are just 20 overs. It is important how you tackle pressure. It is a big challenge for me.”
Kuldeep signed off by saying, “I want to play for a long time in national colours.” Virat Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipTuesday per, tweeted on a smiling picture of himself with other Indian Premier League skippers, who were all gathered in Hyderabad on the eve of the opening ceremony and the inaugural match of the T20 league’s 10th edition.
It was striking that Virat Kohli was standing with Gautam Gambhir --- with the arm around his shoulder --- and Steve Smith, two players who have been involved in major on-field flarecaptain. ups with the India Signifmentioned icantly, Kohli “Spirit of Cricket” in the tweet. Gambhir, skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, had an ugly spat with Kohli in the 2013 IPL edition and it required Rajat Bhatia, also a Delhi player, and others to intervene and separate them. The recent run-ins by Australia skipper Smith --- who leads Rising Pune Supergiant --- with Virat Kohli during the Test series are fresh in mind.
On Tuesday afternoon,