On Monday (April 22), Delhi Capitals (DC) and Indian wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav revealed that he still shelters some regrets about his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and reflects on areas where he could have performed better as a bowler for the franchise.
Joining KKR in 2012, Kuldeep quickly rose to prominence as one of the country’s premier spin bowlers, thanks to his distinctive left-arm angle. However, as opposition batters began to decipher his variations, the period between 2019 and 2021 became challenging.
While KKR initially supported him, he spent the entire 2021 season on the bench. Kuldeep Yadav left the team and subsequently lost his spot in the Indian squad. He then endured a significant injury setback.
However, he has since made a resilient comeback and has emerged as a key player not only for DC but also for India in all white-ball formats.
“I feel very bad about it,” Kuldeep told a select group of journalists in an event organised by the DC management.
“Now, when I see myself, I wish I could’ve done things that I can do now at that time. It still hurts me a lot. I think about how if I had worked on these things earlier, I would have been able to dominate the game more.”
“But that didn’t happen because experience is such a thing that you only get after playing and not without doing anything. You only learn after facing failures in life.”
He added:
“Now, I am very confident. I have a lot of belief in my skills. But at the same time, I am very respectful for the opponent and understand how they play.”
”Perhaps I didn’t used to to do that then because I had that much belief in my skills. Now I focus on my strengths and think about where to bowl to cause difficulties for the batter.”
The spinner, known for his humorous jokes that lightened the mood, was questioned about his former KKR captain, Dinesh Karthik’s recent comment regarding having to be “tough” with Kuldeep due to his underwhelming performances.
In response, Kuldeep stated that he couldn’t recall the specific conversation he had with Karthik. He also acknowledged the challenging nature of Karthik’s decision-making role, having to choose between him and Varun Chakravarthy, who was in better form at the time.
When pressed further to discuss disparities between Karthik’s leadership and that of MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep remarked:
“I just feel that DK bhai plays spin so well that he needs to understand how to manage them (smiles). It was almost like he was so good against spin so he used to think opposition batters were also good!”
He also mentioned that he was relatively immature during his time with KKR and relied on guidance from senior players like Karthik and Dhoni. However, he now feels that he has matured enough to identify his requirements and take charge of the field independently.
Kuldeep Yadav commends Abhishek Sharma for his batting performance against him
Kuldeep has been in exceptional form during IPL 2024. Despite sitting out a few matches due to a groin injury, he has managed to claim 10 wickets from five games at an average of 15.20.
In his recent match against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), he gave away 55 runs but captured four wickets, preventing the Orange Army from reaching a total beyond 300.
The 29-year-old discussed his strategy in the current high-scoring IPL, emphasizing his focus on bowling to his strengths and acknowledging when batsmen successfully handle his best deliveries.
He specifically highlighted SRH’s young opener Abhishek Sharma as the batter who executed this approach most effectively.
“Abhishek batted really well. The balls he hit for sixes, that… I have played a lot of T20s and those balls are really difficult to hit so credit to him.”
Kuldeep is set to play on Wednesday against the Gujarat Titans in Delhi.
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