NEWS
Follow UsKuldeep Yadav didn’t play a single match in the group stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup. India played all of those games in the USA where the surfaces were more suitable for the pacers. But as expected, once India came to the West Indies for the Super 8s, Kuldeep Yadav was drafted into the XI and has played a big role in the wins against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
The left-arm wristspinner scalped two wickets against Afghanistan and then followed it up with a three-wicket haul against Bangladesh on June 22 (Saturday) in Antigua. Kuldeep said the surfaces in the West Indies are good for spinners and all he needs to do is stick to one particular length and keep varying his pace.
“I wasn't playing. Actually, I was playing as a 12th man there (USA). I was helping out the teammates and carrying the drinks. That is more like playing. I didn't bowl there but I would have loved to bowl there. But it's more like an Australian sort of wicket. But here I played, I made my T20 ODI debut here back in 2017. I knew the condition very well, just the length and trying to vary my pace. So perfect for spinners to come here and bowl,” said Kuleep after India hammered Bangladesh by 50 runs.
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“It's very important to play every game, take every game as a normal game. Now obviously we are playing at Super 8, we have a lot of pressure as well. We're going to play Australia in a couple of days' time. The wickets are good for spinners, as you have seen in the last few games. Nothing changes. We got four overs, I especially got four overs to bowl and that was my plan. Just sticking to the length and varying my pace.”
The Men in Blue posted a massive score of 196 in the first innings but Bangladesh got off to a decent start. They were 66/1 at one stage before Kuldeep dismissed well-set Tanzid Hasan. The 29-year-old then got rid of in-form Towhid Hridoy and Shakib Al Hasan and sealed the game for India. Bangladesh could only get to 146/8 in the run chase.
“I was bowling from this end, the wind was like crossing this way. It was difficult from this end - as a spinner because my rhythm is, not like running rhythm, It's more like one step and then go aggressive. I didn't think about the wind, just the length matters. And obviously reading the batter what they are expecting from me, just being one step ahead, what they are thinking. Just keeping in mind and changing the line and length. They were targeting the wind side and I was reacting to what they were doing.”
Kuldeep also said that playing in a small stadium like Kotla in the 2024 Indian Premier League is helping him do well here in the West Indies where the boundary sizes are a lot bigger. “IPL is totally different, boss. I'll let you know - that it's totally different. What you experience in IPL is not what you are experiencing in the T20 World Cup.
“And when most of the guys who have played in Kotla, Kotla is the smallest ground in India. Yes, sometimes you get the bigger boundary. It's very nice to have that in your favour. But at the same time, for any spinners around the globe, the length matters a lot. And especially in this format, you have to read what the batter is trying to do, be more aggressive, the approach should be like very - very aggressive. So that is actually helping me during IPL and it's actually helping me in T20 World Cup.”
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