NEWS
Follow UsNo one knows it better than Kuldeep Yadav’s Delhi Capitals who have been on the receiving end of some carnage this year. Barring one game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), they have conceded four 200+ totals at home.
The damage, in particular, was done during the first six-over stage, where the scores against the Capitals were 32/2, 65/3, 67/1, 125/0 and 88/1. One of DC’s vital cogs, Kuldeep Yadav, addressed the same concerns, stating that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has evolved leaps and bounds, with the mindset no longer being scoring just 45-50 runs in the powerplay.
"Every team is now trying to attack in the powerplay and score as many runs as possible. It slows down a bit in the middle overs because of the open field, so the batters are playing more freely in the powerplay. Those days are gone when teams used to target 45-50 runs in the powerplay,” Kuldeep said at an event, reported ESPNCricinfo.
“But I think the bowlers must show more courage. If a batter goes for the attack, then a bowler also has more chances of taking wickets,” he added.
What could the bowlers do better? Kuldeep reckons that the bowlers should stick more to their plans rather than concentrating on what the batters could potentially do.
"I feel that the bowlers are trying more to read the batters' mind instead of sticking to their strengths. They are trying to bowl where the batter looks a little weak. But I think a bowler should understand his strengths and back his strengths,” he added.
“You can see Jasprit Bumrah, who backs his strengths. The way he bowls, any batter is on the back foot. He dominates the batters mentally. All these things become very important."
On a personal note, Kuldeep has seen a drastic transformation in his own approach, with a renewed self-confidence in his game.
"If you are not confident then you will be in a defensive mindset. On the other hand, if you are confident, then you are ready to bowl even in the powerplay. I am now ready for all the challenges and always look to take wickets,” he said.
“My self-confidence has increased, and I have a lot of faith in my skills. I see how the batter is batting and how I have to bowl to him. I think where should I bowl to him so that he has a little difficulty in hitting.”
"Sometimes you can get hit even on good balls, like it happened to me during the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. [Heinrich] Klaasen and Abhishek hit sixes on good balls. But I believed in my skills, and I also got wickets that day. Now I enjoy my bowling more and I have learned all this from experience."
While Kuldeep’s bowling skills were never under the scanner, it was a question of whether his batting could withstand the pressures of international cricket. So far, the left-handed batter has not let the national team down after some impressive knocks in the recent tour against England, where he had three 25+ scores.
"Rohit bhai does not talk to me much about bowling because I am doing what he wants from me with the ball," Kuldeep said.
"He was concerned about my batting. He told me to improve my batting. I worked on it during the Test series against England and he was impressed by my hard work. He used to be with me in the nets and speak to me about the nuances of batting. This helped me a lot and now I am enjoying my batting as much as my bowling."
