I have already started preparing for Australia tour: Kuldeep Yadav
All Indian cricketers have been under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic for over three months now. But Kuldeep Yadav is making the best use of this forced gap in the international calendar and preparing himself for the four-Test series against Australia at the end of 2020.
India are set to tour Australia to play a series of four Tests beginning at the Gabba, Brisbane on December 3rd. Kuldeep Yadav, who had a modest time in 2019, is looking to bounce back and rediscover his best form when India tour Down Under.
“A break is very important. You learn from whatever happened in the last year about planning your bowling. You need to spend time and come up with a plan every time. I have already started preparing for the Australia tour (later this year), so that I go there and play a confident cricket,” Kuldeep Yadav told Deep Dasgupta on ESPNcricinfo's Cricketbaazi.
2019 was a forgettable year for Kuldeep Yadav
2019 was a forgettable year for the Uttar Pradesh left-arm wrist spinner. In 23 ODIs last year, Kuldeep Yadav only picked up 32 wickets at an average of 34.68 – way above his career average of 26.16.
"It was mentally very tough for me. When you are looked at as a wicket-taking bowler but you are not able to pick wickets, you start doubting your skills. I spoke to Bharat Arun (India's bowling coach) who showed confidence in me which boosted my morale," the 25-year-old said.
Kuldeep Yadav has made a massive impact with the ball, especially in limited-overs cricket since his debut in 2017. The chinaman bowler said he finds the now-retired AB de Villiers as the most difficult batsman to bowl to in world cricket.
AB de Villiers retired from international cricket with 9577 ODI runs at an average of 53.50.
“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," Kuldeep Yadav said.
Kuldeep Yadav, who turns out for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL), also picked Australian Steve Smith as a dangerous batsman because of his ability to play the ball late.
"Smith plays me mostly off the back foot. He plays the ball very late as well, so it becomes challenging to bowl to him," Kuldeep Yadav commented.
Kuldeep Yadav also added that he had worked a lot to forget the IPL season last year.
“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,” Kuldeep Yadav commented.