SL vs IND 2021: "Kuldeep Yadav is in his peak confidence" - Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has rejected the notion that Kuldeep Yadav is short on confidence ahead of India's limited overs series against Sri Lanka. The seamer backed Kuldeep to deliver in the upcoming series, stating that the spinner is at his "peak confidence".
Kuldeep Yadav last played for India in T20Is in January 2020 against Sri Lanka. He has since been overlooked in the shortest format on the international scene, with the bowler finding it hard to even break into the playing XI of his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
With many suggesting that Kuldeep Yadav is lacking confidence, his fellow Indian teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar backed him to come good against Sri Lanka.
Speaking at a press conference, the seamer said:
"He has done well in the practice matches. What I have seen is he is in his peak confidence, what we generally see of him. I'm sure if he does well in this series, he will be very confident of doing well in the IPL, or the World Cup."
Kumar further stated that bowling is not only about confidence. But he was quick to add that confidence helps players come out of tough phases quickly. He explained:
"What I always look at is how he bowls, it's not all about confidence. It can be the execution part as well, it could be in form or out of form. But when you are confident you can get through those phases very quickly. Seeing him right now, he is very confident, the way he is bowling in the nets. I'm sure he will do well in this series."
Deep Dasgupta's interesting observation about Kuldeep Yadav
Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta highlighted how Kuldeep Yadav struggles for confidence after bowling a few bad deliveries in a game. The former Bengal star noted that the spinner often looks at his captain's reaction after bowling a poor delivery.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Dasgupta explained an interesting observation about the 26-year-old:
"The problem, the way I see it, is in his confidence level. If you observe his body language, his shoulders suddenly drop after one bad over. If gets hit for a four, or gives away a full toss, try to notice him in the future, his first instinct isn't to look at the ball but at the captain's reaction."
Kuldeep Yadav was last seen in action for India in the ODI series against England earlier this year. He had a poor outing with the ball, returning with figures of 0-152 in his 19 overs over the course of two games.