Kuldeep Yadav embraces a fiery and aggressive approach in T20 cricket, which has been key to the Indian wrist spinner's swift success in the Caribbean leg of the T20 World Cup. Despite being India’s top spinner across formats over the past year, Kuldeep was benched during the league stage in the USA due to the pitch conditions in New York.
However, he has been instrumental on the spin-friendly tracks in the Caribbean, especially in the Super 8s. Kuldeep has already claimed five wickets in two matches, including a standout three-wicket performance against Bangladesh on Saturday.
Kuldeep's success is largely attributed to his fearless strategy. He boldly delivers the ball from a good length, even when faced with aggressive batting. This tactic paid off against Bangladesh, where the batters struggled to read him, allowing Kuldeep to dominate. He secured the wickets of opener Tanzid Hasan with a googly, trapped Towhid Hridoy with a straight delivery, and took out Shakib Al Hasan.
Speaking about his strategy, Kuldeep emphasized the importance of maintaining length. “For any spinner around the globe, the length matters a lot. And especially in this format, you have to read what the batter is trying to do, be more aggressive, the approach should be like very - very aggressive. So that is actually helping me during IPL and it's actually helping me in T20 World Cup,” Kuldeep explained on Saturday.
Kuldeep is set to face a significant challenge against Australia on Monday. When asked how he maintains his game plan under pressure, Kuldeep responded, "When the other team needs like 10 runs or 12 runs per over and the batter is going against you, my plan is to just stick with the length."
"When they try to attack you, if you have a proper plan against them and you are bowling in probably the better length and you have maximum chances of getting the batter out. So that is my thinking, not thinking I have to get him out, just the length,” he added.
Kuldeep also reflected on his awareness of the team’s strategy in the Caribbean. Having missed out in New York due to pace-friendly conditions, he contributed as the 12th man, supporting his teammates. “Obviously, I wasn't playing. Actually, I was playing as a 12th man there. I was helping out the teammates and carrying the drinks. That is more like playing. I didn't bowl there but I would have loved to bowl there," he said.
“But it was more like an Australian sort of wicket. But here I played, I made my T20 ODI debut here back in 2017. I knew the conditions very well, just the length and trying to vary my pace. So it is nice for spinners to come here and bowl," he added.
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