Kuldeep Yadav Is Working Hard On His Batting Skills For IPL 2021

Kuldeep Yadav has had a tough few years in cricket recently despite enjoying success in limited-overs cricket a few years back. Dropped from both the Indian team as well as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the spinner hasn’t seen much success after breaking onto the scene with aplomb.

While his struggles at KKR have been due to his poor bowling efforts coupled with the rise of Varun Chakravarthy, his story in the Indian team is slightly different.

Kuldeep Yadav Is Working A Lot On His Batting

He played only 14 games in the last two seasons for KKR and his average was above 70 in both editions which are extremely poor by standards unlike his average in IPL 2016-2018 which was less than 30. In ODIs too he averaged a mere 17.78 with the ball in 2018 picking as many as 45 wickets in 19 games but has picked only 6 scalps in 7 ODIs in 2020-21. In T20Is his average is an extraordinary 13.77 but he has got limited opportunities.

Kuldeep Yadav has failed to impress with the ball, but his lack of ability with the bat has pushed India to pick someone like all-rounders Krunal Pandya or Washington Sundar over him. Speaking to IANS, the chinaman left-arm wrist spinner admitted he has been working on his batting skills while spending time on the sidelines.

“I have worked a lot on my batting recently. I didn’t get much opportunities to bat in matches. But I worked with [batting coach] Vikram [Rathour] paaji a lot. I think I will score runs in times to come. Whatever skills I have with the bat, I will use them,” revealed Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep Yadav averages 13.11 in ODIs and has a high score of 19 with the bat. The spinner has come out to bat just 21 times in 63 games but has managed to remain not out on 12 occasions. His record in other formats isn’t too impressive either, with Kuldeep Yadav averaging 6.75 in Tests and batting just twice in 21 T20Is.

Kuldeep Yadav Will Battle For A Spot In KKR Playing XI With Spinners Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, And Varun Chakravarthy Also In Contention

Kuldeep Yadav can do his chances a world of good if he manages to improve with the bat. India is currently struggling with having too many tail-enders on their side, which has prompted them to break up the successful Kuldeep Yadav-Yuzvendra Chahal duo.

If Kuldeep Yadav can impress with his batting skills, he can offer a viable alternative down the order. It can also help take the pressure off his bowling, allowing him to get two cracks at contributing during a game. Kuldeep Yadav discussed how the Australia tour helped him work on his batting.

“My defence is very good. I was working a lot in Australia on playing shots — the areas where you can score off fast bowlers, looking at scoring opportunities against them,” shared Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep Yadav will next get a chance to prove his batting credentials during IPL 2021. With spinners like Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, and Varun Chakravarthy in the ranks, it remains to be seen whether the 26-year-old will get enough chances to prove his doubters wrong.

KKR secured the services of some very prominent names like Shakib Al Hasan, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, and Pawan Negi in IPL 2021 auctions. They also bought some promising uncapped talent in Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, and Venkatesh Iyer.

Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh was added to the squad for ₹2 crores by the club. The four-time champion joins an impressive spin line-up consisting of Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Kuldeep Yadav, Pawan Negi, Kuldeep Yadav, and Sunil Narine.

Kolkata Knight Riders Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan(c), Dinesh Karthik(wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine/ Shakib Al Hasan, Shivam Mavi/Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Pat Cummins/ Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy/ Harbhajan Singh, Prasidh Krishna.