In a recent conversation, Kuldeep Yadav, India’s ace spinner, shared insights into his recent T20I success against South Africa. The ace spinner also acknowledged the support he received from ‘spin twin’ Yuzvendra Chahal during challenging times in his career.
Kuldeep’s notable five-wicket haul in the third T20I played a crucial role in India’s comfortable 106-run victory, leveling the series 1-1 against Aiden Markram’s side.
In a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Kuldeep and stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav engaged in a conversation. When asked by Suryakumar about his discussion with Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep responded, “Chahal bhai had a long flight so we didn’t speak much. Just met him last evening where he told me not to change too much about bowling. Even when things weren’t great 2-3 years ago, he was always there for me. Hopefully, we will try to do well if we play together in ODIs.”
What is strategy of Kuldeep Yadav?
Kuldeep Yadav elaborated on his strategy for the match, stating, “Wasn’t thinking much. The idea was to bowl to a particular length, and then I observed that the pitch is slow, and the quicker ones were gripping a bit. So I was just mixing my flighted deliveries with quicker ones. I did get a few lucky wickets as the ball was keeping low. Once I got three wickets, I thought let’s go for picking five wickets.”
Switching the focus to Suryakumar Yadav record-equalling century in the same T20I, Kuldeep Yadav asked about his feelings after the impressive knock. Suryakumar, who scored a match-winning ton, equaling Rohit Sharma’s record for the most hundreds in T20Is, responded, “Whenever I walk out to bat, I don’t think about the amount of runs I have to score. I just want to go out there and enjoy my batting. I like to sprint out to the middle and get ready to face the first ball. It was good to get the Player of the Match and Player of the Series award by coming out of my comfort zone overseas. All the success reached God, God is great.”
Suryakumar Yadav also shared insights into his approach during the match, saying, “I just tried to see what I can offer to the team in those conditions. Even during the timeout, Rahul and Vikram Bhai came and told me to bat as deep as possible, so that’s what I tried. It’s a good thing to get level with Rohit Bhai, just grateful for everything.”
India will next play 3-match ODI series against South Africa starting from December 17.
