Cried after being forced to become a spin bowler: Kuldeep Yadav

Kolkata Knight Riders’ spin sensation Kuldeep Yadav has revealed that he started his career as a pacer and only then switched to spin bowling upon his coach’s insistence.

The 19-year-old chinaman bowler, who made his debut for the Kolkata-based franchise in the Champions League T20 match against Lahore Lions, has so far picked up four wickets in two matches at an economy rate of 5.63. More than the numbers, it is the way he bowled that has captured the eyes of the cricketing world, bamboozling the batsmen with his variations.

Kuldeep told PTI: l"I started off as a fast bowler but one day my coach, Kapil Pandey, called me said that speed is not my forte and I should bowl spin. And that really changed my future course of action and I became a chinaman bowler.”

Cried then, happy now

Admitting that the change wasn’t easy to take for him and that it even made cry, he said: "Though I did not like bowling spin and I even cried after the change, of course now I look back and feel it was for my good. I would not have gone the distance as a fast bowler."

Expressing his delight to be a part of the Knight Riders’ set-up, he said: "It's great to be part of the KKR squad. Nobody has airs about themselves and are very down to earth. They never make me feel like a junior player. Everybody respects and supports each other and we all gel like a family."

The Uttar Pradesh-born shot to prominence in the 2014 Under-19 World Cup held in the United Arab Emirates, ending up as the second-leading wicket-taker: 14 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 16.42 and an economy rate of 4.14.