Few tweaks could help Kuldeep Yadav get out of white-ball trouble, says Narendra Hirwani
BCCI
Kuldeep Yadav's mentor Narendra Hirwani reckoned that a few tweaks could solve the problems Kuldeep Yadav is facing in white-ball cricket. Kuldeep had caused a few problems initially in the first ODI against Australia, but later the batsmen began to pick him well and he fineshed wicketless.
Kuldeep Yadav had the Australian batsmen guessing when he initially began his spell but later he started to get picked by the batsmen and ended wicketless in his ten overs. That has generally been the story with Kuldeep as the batsmen have started to pick him regularly, thus reducing his threat. After having a disappointing 2019, Kuldeep will be hopeful of a better 2020 and mentor Narendra Hirwani believed that a few tweaks would help him get better in white-ball cricket.
“Have you bowled with a wet tennis ball on a cement pitch, and seen the nishaan, its mark, on the track?" Hirwani questioned.
“Bowl and watch it next time. When the trajectory of your flight is lower, the mark would be less. When you rip and flight it a touch higher, the mark would be larger. Then the ball starts to do tricks!” he added.
Hirwani believed that Kuldeep's bowling had not been bad. He was just being read too well by the batsmen and thus needed to focus more on his variations and a few tricks up his sleeve. He felt that Kuldeep needed to bowl more attacking line and lengths.
“I didn’t see any glaring weakness where he (Kuldeep Yadav) has to go and work for months. There is the need to be a bit smarter with his lengths, a mindset to attack more, and a few tweaks,” Hirwani asserted.
One of the main reasons why Kuldeep was so successful in his career before 2019 was the kind of dip that he was getting on the ball. Due to the dip, the batsmen used to get beaten in the flight, bringing a false shot into play. Hirwani believed that Kuldeep needed to work on that dip to revive his form.
“Kuldeep’s best bet is to concentrate on the extent of spin and dip. I am not talking like some old-timer – flight it high, but just over the eye-line. And also not every ball. Let him keep varying it but there should be enough of such balls in the spell.”
