ICC World Cup 2019 | Kuldeep Yadav has come into the World Cup even stronger after IPL setback, says Virat Kohli
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Virat Kohli has stated that Kuldeep Yadav had time to reflect on his bad performances during the IPL and is heading into the World Cup even stronger. The Indian skipper has also added that they are expecting high-scoring games, but there will be a few close 260-270 kind of games as well.
Kuldeep was smacked for 27 runs in one over by Moeen Ali and Virat Kohli and as soon as the over ended, he was inconsolable and was on his knees near the boundary. It would have been understandable for him had it been one-off, but he had already endured a tough IPL and this became the final nail in the coffin as KKR decided to relegate him to the bench. Kuldeep's wicket tally stood at three from nine games at an average of 71.50 with the economy rate being 8.66 - a disastrous bowling performance for the left-arm wrist-spinner.Â
While it mightâve been a cause of concern for the Indian team management, Virat Kohli downplayed that by saying the spinner had got enough time to introspect and is even stronger now. Kohli has also added that Kedar Jadhav, who has been declared fit after suffering a shoulder injury, is in a great head-space following that.
"Someone like Kuldeep who has had so much success, it's important to see a period where things don't go your way also. We are glad that it happened during the IPL, rather than during the World Cup. He has time to reflect, time to correct things and come into the World Cup even stronger. The kind of skill set he possesses, along with Chahal, they are really two pillars of our bowling line-up,â Kohli was quoted as saying by PTI.
"Kedar also, we understand the kind of pitches they (Chennai Super Kings) got playing at home. We were not too worried looking at Kedar because he was looking in a good space. Yes, he couldn't get runs, T20 is such a format where you don't get a few and you can go on like that for a few days. We are not worried about anyone's headspace.â
If the kind of pitches that England offered for the Pakistan series had anything to go by, breaching 500-run mark in the World Cup wouldnât be a too far-fetched dream. Even Pakistan, known for its batting vulnerabilities, had crossed 300 on all four occasions, giving rise to the belief that the forthcoming mega-event is going to be a run-fest. However, Kohli disagreed with that and stated that there would be a few matches where 260-270 will be successfully defended.Â
"We expect high-scoring games, but a bilateral series compared to a World Cup is very different. You might see a lot of, I won't say low-scoring games, but 260-270 kind of games, teams getting those totals and defending it successfully because of the pressure factor. We expect all kinds of scenarios at the World Cup but yeah, there will be quite a few high-scoring games too."
"Our mantra will be to be flexible according to the conditions. It's one country in the world where the pitches might be flat but if it's overcast and conditions change, then you've got to be up with it because any other country in the world, overhead conditions don't matter that much. In England they do, and it differs from venue to venue. In London it might not make that much of a difference whereas if you go up north, it does get overcast and you'll see things happening. So you have to be ready for that, prepare for that."
