"KL bhai told me to get the ball outside the off-stump line"- Kuldeep Yadav on KL Rahul helping him during IND vs SL in Asia Cup 2023
Star Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav credited wicketkeeper KL Rahul for the successful plotting of Sadeera Samarawickrama's dismissal during the India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup Super Fours encounter in Colombo on Tuesday, September 12.
Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka had built a crucial partnership and it seemed like they were playing Kuldeep with ease. This is when Rahul stepped in and asked the wrist-spinner to change the line of attack. It worked beautifully as the partnership was broken through Samarawickrama's stumping.
Speaking to Suryakumar Yadav in a video posted by BCCI, here's what Kuldeep Yadav had to say about why he pointed to KL Rahul after Samarawickrama's wicket:
"KL bhai had told me to spin the ball from outside the off-stump. I was bowling on the middle stump line and that was a bit easier for the batter to manage. So KL bhai told me to get the ball outside the off-stump line and that worked really well because I also got a lot of drift. So I would thank KL Bhai for that."
Kuldeep also thanked Suryakumar for the pep talk that helped the spinner not get complacent. he added:
"I was confident after picking the five-wicket haul, but there was a bit of complacency and a pep talk with you (SKY) for two minutes made me understand that I need to be hungry once again for the wickets today for my team and should not slack because of the five wickets. So thank you Surya Bhai for that."
Kuldeep Yadav on playing back-to-back three days
Team India were in action on three consecutive days in the Asia Cup and it naturally could have taken a lot of toll on their body. However, Kuldeep Yadav explained how he kept himself mentally switched on and physically fresh for the games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
On this, he stated:
"When you play for India, you're always motivated to do well. Even if you have done well in the last game, you want to carry that form and keep on doing well. I have been playing for a while and I didn't want to drop off from the performance level. A lot of people have helped me in that and you're (SKY) one of them."
Kuldeep has had an incredible couple of days where he has picked up nine wickets and played a massive role in India making it to the Asia Cup final.