T20 World Cup – Kuldeep Yadav – ‘Nothing has changed, I have four overs to bowl’

Kuldeep has taken five wickets in India’s two Super Eight matches, after taking 2 for 32 against Afghanistan on Thursday in Barbados.

India held Kuldeep back for the Caribbean leg of the tournament in the belief that the pitches would suit his left wrist better than the USA’s. And, while he admitted that he was determined to play in the group stage, he knew that once he returned to the islands where he made his white-ball debut for India, during the 2017 West Indies tour, his experience would be called upon.

“I was helping my colleagues and also carrying drinks [in the US]. That’s like playing,” Kuldeep joked. “I’d love to bowl there. But it is the type of Australian wicket. But here I did my T20 [and] ODI debuted in 2017. I knew the conditions very well, just the length and trying to change my pace. So it’s good that the spinners come here to bowl.”

While there was a good reason to bring Kuldeep into the side in the Caribbean, having a bowler make their debut so late and at such an important stage of the T20 World Cup is rare. But Kuldeep said that he does not feel any extra pressure playing for the first time in this tournament in the Super Eight stage.

“It is very important to play every game, to take every game as a normal game. Now obviously we are playing in the Super Eight, obviously we have a lot of pressure again. We will play Australia in a few days. The wickets are good for the spinners, as you have seen in the last few games.”

Bowling in the middle order, Kuldeep went wicketless in his first over but struck in each of the next three. He rocked Tanzid Hasan with a googly that roared back into mid on and forced it onto the front pad before slotting Towhid Hridoy with a straight fox to the back pad. After Shakib Al Hasan hit a loping delivery for six, Kuldeep bowled another over like a tempter, but the slow pace and extra bounce pulled the top edge and the third wicket.

Kuldeep bowled his four overs from the Sir Andy Roberts End, giving the left-handed batsmen a leg-side hit in the air and helping the right-handers off their stumps. But while the strong wind poses challenges, he said it’s important not to overthink its impact.

“It was difficult to go from there as a spinner because my rhythm is like a running rhythm, like one step and attack. I didn’t think about the wind, length is important. And obviously reading the batter what they expect from me, reading one step ahead, what they are thinking and just changing the line and the length, and they were clearly aiming in the windy direction, and just reacting to what they were doing.

“If the other team needs 10 runs or 12 runs in one over and the batsman goes against you my plan is to stick to the length, and obviously if they try to attack you, if you have the right plan against them and bowl. probably with the better length, he has more chances to get the batter out, so that’s my thinking, I don’t think I should get him out, just the length.