Going into the upcoming season of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, in the West Indies and the United States of America, India will bank on the terrific form of Kuldeep Yadav, to display his incredible skill and experience to lead the spin department of the side.
The Chainaman was part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) team in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, where he picked up 16 wickets at an average of 23.38 and an economy of 8.70, which has been quite decent given he played most of his games at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where the average score was around 210-215.
There was a phase during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, where the left-arm spinner was dropped from the national team, as he nailed only five wickets across the two editions of the IPL in 14 games. But Kuldeep Yadav made a great comeback in both the shortest and longest format of the game for India.
‘Winning the World Cup is my only dream’ – Kuldeep Yadav
In the last home Test series against England at home, Kuldeep Yadav finished as the fourth-highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets in four games, at a bowling average of 20.15, with one four and five-wicket haul.
But what has he changed in his bowling? From an outside view, it looks like he has changed his stride while delivering the ball. The veteran recalled how Ricky Ponting, the Capitals coach delivered him the confidence when he first joined the franchises back in 2022.
“I never thought I’d change drastically over the last couple of years. When I joined DC in 2022, I did come in with changed skills, but I needed that confidence,” Kuldeep Yadav expressed this during a candid conversation in the second Episode of the DC Café.
“I still remember when I met Ricky on the first day, he hugged me properly and said, we wanted to have you in our team. I know your skills. Don’t worry about anything, and I will ensure you play all the games. So, Ponting helped me gain confidence, he used to give me ideas in training sessions.”
The UP-born also thanked his IPL captain Rishabh Pant, who trusted in him, and showing the full support.
Kuldeep Yadav also shared how he worked with Shane Watson, and used to have deep conversations for hours during the IPL, and what role he has played in his life.
‘However, I worked a lot with Watson. I bonded strongly with him; I used to share everything, even when I wasn’t playing well. I used to talk for hours with him in his room during the IPL,” the veteran India bowler remarked.
“He used to ask me about everything I was uncomfortable with, and I used to open up freely to him. He has played a big role in this. I still have notes from those conversations on my phone, and I rewind those before I play matches.”
Kuldeep Yadav was part of the 2019 ODI World Cup, where they lost the semifinal to New Zealand, but as they gear up for this T20 World Cup, the 29-year-old has set his one goal of winning the title for the national team.
“It’s my dream to win the World Cup for India. This is my first T20 World Cup. I’m 29 years old and expect to play for as long as possible. Winning the World Cup is a long-term goal, and there’s a bigger process behind it,’ the Chainaman reckoned.
“If you’re playing for India for a long time, you’ve got to win a World Cup. I think trophies do matter in the end, and you’re playing to win the trophies. So, winning the World Cup is my only dream.”
After funnily talking about getting a potential chance of coaching a football team, Kuldeep opened up on how the bond with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja has helped him in his individual performance.
“My friendship with Jaddu bhai (Ravindra Jadeja) is straightforward; we talk less about cricket. However, with Ash bhai (Ravichandran Ashwin), we talk a lot about the game,” the DC bowler concluded.
“He brings in a lot of new ideas about bowling. Earlier, I didn’t use to try new things, but Ash bhai pushes me to try new things.”
Kuldeep Yadav has picked up 280 wickets in international cricket in 156 innings across the three formats.