Left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav had an offseason with the ball for the Kolkata Knight Riders as he was taken to the cleaners time and again and failed to make an impact for KKR in any of the 10 matches he played for the franchise. He bagged 3 wickets in 10 matches and conceded runs at more than 9 runs per over.
Despite the IPL 12 is one of the most difficult phases in his cricketing career, Kuldeep Yadav revealed that a message from former India skipper MS Dhoni helped him remain confident ahead of the showpiece event despite a horrendous run in the recently concluded Indian Premier League. He was smashed for 27 runs in solitary over by Moeen Ali during a match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore when he conceded 59 runs in his quota of 4 overs spell.
Following a disastrous campaign, Kuldeep Yadav revealed that what he went through. “I wasn’t negative but wasn’t positive either at that time. When I was hit for so many runs in that over I was very disappointed. I knew I could get him (Moeen) out and we had a plan too but I just couldn’t execute it. The game slipped out of our grasp because of that over and that’s why I was very emotional,” Kuldeep Yadav was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
Kuldeep Yadav looked devastated in some of the IPL matches and it was evident from his performances in all of the matches. Apart from a sensational final over against Delhi Capitals which took the match to the super over, the left-arm unorthodox was spinner was quite ordinary and went for plenty of runs during the course of the tournament. Kuldeep Yadav revealed that a message from MS Dhoni asking him not to lose his confidence helped him recover during that time.
…Then Mahi bhai (Dhoni) passed on a message that I shouldn’t lose confidence, I need to focus on my game and that really helped me a lot. He has always been a pillar of support ever since I made my debut. People only talk about how he helps us from behind the stumps but it’s actually the work, the advice he gives us in-between or after the matches, that does a world of good,” Kuldeep Yadav said.
“That was just a joke, nothing serious. In fact, it wasn’t a statement at all, we all were laughing. I cannot make such a statement about Mahi bhai,” he clarified.