New Delhi:
Kuldeep Yadav was not in great form heading into the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. In nine games for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2019 Indian Premier League, he took just four wickets at an economy rate of 8.68. In most of the games, he struggled for penetration and could not control the flow of runs. In the first warm-up game against New Zealand, Kuldeep struggled but in the game against Bangladesh, the chinaman picked up 3/47 as India won by 95 runs to build momentum ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Yuzvendra Chahal, his wrist-spinning partner, said it was a big relief that Kuldeep was taking wickets.
“I am so happy the way Kuldeep made a comeback and showed the confidence and it is good for the team ahead of the World Cup. We trust each other. We know each other for the last 7-8 years and we have a good bonding on and off the field. If I bowl first then I talk to him about how the wicket is behaving and he talks to me if he is bowling first. Before a match we always plan, like if can bowl more googlies or sliders to particular batsmen,” Chahal said after he picked up 3/55 against Bangladesh.
Chahal was happy with his performance and said with the Indian cricket team posting a big total thanks to centuries from KL Rahul and MS Dhoni, the spinners got far more confidence. “I got to bowl 10 overs. The wicket was not easy for the bowlers and batsmen were attacking. So I, Kuldeep (Yadav) and Jaddu pa (Ravindra Jadeja) tried to vary the pace. Before the World Cup starts if the batsmen give you a big total, obviously, it is a good chance for the bowlers. 350 is very difficult to chase, so you can flight the ball. When you are defending such a total, there is no pressure on the bowlers to start with. There is more pressure on the batsmen because they have to chase 360-370 and they have to hit almost every ball,” Chahal said.
India will open their World Cup campaign against South Africa in Southampton on June 5 as Kohli’s team will be bidding to win the trophy for the third time.
