Kuldeep Yadav sees Ashwin and Jadeja as mentors and not competition

Kuldeep Yadav sees Ashwin and Jadeja as mentors and not competition

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Kuldeep Yadav has cleared the air calling out senior bowlers Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as mentors who have always guided him, rather than competitors. The chinaman bowler has also praised ‘classy’ MS Dhoni stating that the wicketkeeper does 60 percent of the job for the bowler.

Wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been nothing short of brilliant in the recently concluded Australia and New Zealand series, leading many to raise doubts if they would usurp the places of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the future, mainly in the 2019 World Cup. However, the 22-year-old has rubbished all such speculations stating that both the senior bowlers have always helped him in adapting to different situations and there is no sense of competition among them.

Speaking ahead of the Test match against Sri Lanka where Yadav would join the team with the bowling duo, he said to CricketNext, “I have no idea where this comparison comes from. Yes, Chahal and me have done decently in the limited-overs format, but that does not mean we are competing with Ashwin and Jadeja.”

“Just look at their numbers and what they have done. We are just starting out and for me, I look up to them for guidance. In fact, they keep telling me how to go about doing my job in different match situations. Let us get this straight that they are not competition at all.”

Yadav has also become Kohli’s go-to bowler in the Test format since his heroics against Australia earlier this year in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. And the bowler praised the skipper stating that he is a role model for the whole team.

“We have often heard that while the captain gets the applause and the brickbats after a performance, he can only be as good as his team. But, the same holds true the other way around. Sometimes, the team is as good as the captain and ours is a prime example. We have a role model in Kohli and we try and work just as hard as him. He raises the bar and we try to follow that,” said Yadav.

Another adjustment for the chinaman bowler would be Wriddhiman Saha behind the wickets, now in place of MS Dhoni, who has had a tremendous impact on the Yadav’s performance in the limited-overs format.

“Saha is just as good. He keeps guiding you with little inputs. But obviously, Dhoni is in a class of his own. With him, you just need to do 40 percent of the job. The rest of the 60 percent he does it for you. He is so good that he can read the batsman’s mind even before you bowl. While people love comparisons, I would say they are both very calm and that makes the job of the bowler easier,” Yadav concluded.

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