Kuldeep Yadav Picks The Two Toughest Batsmen To Bowl To

Indian left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav significantly shot into the limelight — after the 2017 Champions Trophy when the national team veered away from Ravichandran Ashwin in limited-overs cricket. Instead, the selectors installed Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who tasted enormous success as spin-twins. Both leg-spinners found a way to keep the batsmen quiet and pick up wickets, especially in the middle-overs.

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Meanwhile, in a conversation with Deep Dasgupta, Kuldeep has named two of the toughest bowlers he bowled to. It includes one Australian batsman and a retired South African. The left-arm spinner last played in the tour of New Zealand, in which the Kiwi batsmen milked him for runs. In the first of the three ODIs, he went for 84 runs in ten overs and didn’t play the next two.

Kuldeep Yadav first picked the former Australian captain Steve Smith, who Kuldeep claimed that he always plays him off the back foot. By playing off the back, Smith plays the ball very late, which makes it challenging. Steve Smith is at the top of the current Test rankings and has over 7000 Test runs at 62.80.

“Smith plays me mostly off the back foot. He plays the ball very late as well, so it becomes challenging to bowl to him,” Yadav stated.

As far as 50-over cricket goes, the Uttar Pradesh-born named Ab de Villiers as a dangerous prospect. Kuldeep stated that he has a unique style and feels relieved that he has retired from the game. At the same time, he also admitted that other than the former Proteas captain, there is nobody he is afraid of.

“In ODIs, Ab de Villiers is a good player. He has a unique style. Now that he’s retired, it’s a good thing! But other than him, I haven’t found any other batsman who I am scared will hit me for runs,” Kuldeep Yadav. 

I think I bowled well at the World Cup: Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav addressed his 2019 World Cup performance claiming he wanted to do well in the tournament to put back his forgettable IPL that year. Having not picked a lot of wickets as expected, the 25-year old felt he fared well with the ball. In seven matches in the 2019 World Cup, the leggie snapped only six scalps at 56.17. On the contrary, the nine games in IPL 2019 produced only four wickets.

“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,” Kuldeep Yadav said.

Kuldeep also cited his rather lean run last year with the cherry due to lacking few skills and being consistently in and out of the side. He admitted once a player features regularly; the confidence level is high. If otherwise, then the athlete always comes under pressure.

“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,” the 25-year-old added.

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