Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been a crucial member of India’s limited-overs set-up. From the last few years, Kuldeep has turned out to be one of the key aspects in India’s bowling line-up. The chinaman debuted in 2017 and has so far troubled many skillful batsmen.
The Kanpur-born has appeared in 60 ODI matches for Team India and has taken 104 scalps at a brilliant economy of 5.51. When it comes to T20Is, Kuldeep has grabbed 39 wickets in 21 games. Just by the variations and control over line and length, the 25-year-old has excelled in modern-day cricket. He has made several batsmen dance to his tunes but who does Kuldeep find difficult to bowl?
Well in a recent conversation with former international Deep Dasgupta on ESPNCricinfo, Kuldeep revealed that according to him the toughest batsman to bowl in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) is former South African captain AB de Villiers.
The wrist-spinner heaped praises on the Proteas star for his ‘unique style’ of batting. Kuldeep even said that it’s good that ABD has retired from the game.
“In ODIs, AB de Villiers is a good player. He has a unique style. Now that he’s retired, it’s a good thing! But other than him, I haven’t found any other batsman who I am scared will hit me for a lot of runs,” said Kuldeep.
De Villiers announced retirement from all the formats of the game in 2018. The right-handed genius batsman ended his international ODI career with 9577 runs and a stunning tally of 25 centuries.
During the conversation, Kuldeep also spoke about his rough patch that he went through in the 2019 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). He could only pick four wickets in 9 matches for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
“I prepared really well before leaving for the World Cup 2019 because I wanted to overcome my failure in IPL that year. Even though I didn’t pick up many wickets, I think I bowled well at the World Cup,” the spinner added.
“After that, I have been in and out of the team. If you are playing regularly, your confidence is high. If not, you are always under pressure to perform in the chances you get, and your mind stays cluttered. I probably was at fault with my skills as well,” concluded Kuldeep.
