Both David Warner and Kane Williamson give free hand to bowlers, says India pacer Siddarth Kaul
Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Siddarth Kaul was one of the most prominent performers in the 2018 IPL as he ended the season with 24 wickets in 17 matches, the most wickets by an Indian bowler in the tournament.
A consistent performer with the ball in the domestic circuit, Kaul took his game to the next level and played an important role in Sunrisers reaching the final this season.
Deservedly, the Punjab pacer was given a national call-up as he was named in the Indian side for the T20I and ODI series in Ireland and England.
Sportskeeda caught up Siddarth in an exclusive chat and discussed various issues. Here are the excerpts.
How were the last couple of months for you as a cricketer?
It was pretty good. Actually, the whole season, be it my domestic games for Punjab, my time with India A and then, the IPL, things went pretty well and I feel blessed and happy for what happened to me over the course of the last 12 months.
In the 2018 IPL, you were executing your knuckleballs so well. Your take on that...
I wanted to work on a few things after the 2017 IPL. I was just doing the basic things and was preparing myself for the 2018 season and beyond that. I worked harder on a few aspects of my bowling which include the yorkers, slower balls, knuckleballs, bowling in the hard length balls (good lengths and back of a good length) etc. Basically, I was just doing the basic things and everything was going well. When you get the desired result, you will tend to be happy.
You had a great start to the IPL. Were you expecting a call-up when the selectors announced the Indian squad for the tour of Ireland and England?
No, not at all. I was not expecting anything. I was just concentrating on my process and in that process, if you get any rewards, you will be happy. So, I was just concentrating on that and wanted to keep on performing well. If it comes out well, things like selection will take care of themselves. If the selectors want to pick me in the Indian team, they will and if they think I am not good enough, they won't. I don't think about that. I just want to continue my process.
You will be travelling to England and Ireland next month. Is there anything specific you are working on?
Right now, I have decided to rest for 2-3 days and after that, I will start my training with my father. I don't want to complicate things. I will just look to do what I was doing in the IPL. I will work hard on what I have been doing and if I get a debut in England or Ireland, I will try and executive those things there.
Generally, the conditions in England assist the fast bowlers. How excited are you to bowl in some favourable conditions?
Obviously, it will be great to bowl in a climate that suits the bowlers and I am very excited to bowl in those conditions. In India, we get wickets that are flat without any tinge of green for the fast bowlers. I got used to bowling here. So, it won't be an issue even if the wickets don't assist us. I will try and give my 110% to what the situation demands and do the job for the team. I won't think about anything else. I will just still to my basics and keep working hard on that irrespective of the conditions.
Last season, you played under David Warner and this season, you played under Kane Williamson. How would you compare both of them?
I think I can't compare both of them. They both are different kind of players and captains. With David Warner, I was playing in Delhi Daredevils before moving to Sunrisers Hyderabad. I share a good bonding with Warner. When it comes to Williamson, I have been playing with him right from my under-19 days and I share a good bonding with him as well. He has seen me bowl in the IPL in 2017 as he was with us.
He was noticing how I bowl and how I go about my things. I used to speak a lot with him last season. The same can be said about Warner as well. It always helps you in the field when you have a teammate as your captain who knows everything about you. It always helps you on the field when it comes to captaincy. Because both are great captains, they give you a free hand, which helps in executing your bowling plans with a free mind. That's the main plus point of both of them.
Any regrets coming away from the 2018 IPL?
There are no regrets. It's just that we couldn't get it done in the final. Hopefully, next year we will have the cup in our hands. I don't think too much about it. Sometimes, it's just not your day. Failures teach you how to succeed the next time. Whenever you fail, you know your shortcoming and I try to learn from them. I don't have any regrets.
Your favourite wicket in the IPL...
Every wicket has been special for me and my team because I always want to do well for my team. I do not think about myself. If I have to pick one wicket, I'll pick that of Rayudu when I got him off the first ball with an outswinging yorker. It was my favourite because Rayudu was playing some tremendous cricket. Because of his form, the plan was to get him early and it worked just according to my plan.