We couldn’t have been effective if not for Kohli and Dhoni, says Kuldeep Yadav
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav has credited his and Yuzvendra Chahal’s heroics in South Africa to the proper on-field guidance of skipper Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. The wrist spinner also revealed that he never gives much importance to the pitch and believes in his strengths as an attacking bowler.
Contrary to wide expectations, India’s dominance on the South African soil came largely through their bowling department. While the Test series and the T20Is saw pacers taming the South African batsmen, the six-match ODI series saw two of their wrist spinners absolutely obliterating their batting order time and again.
While Kuldeep finished the ODI series with 17 wickets, Chahal had 16 before claiming 1 more in the shortest format. However, Kolkata Knight Riders' Kuldeep Yadav has admitted that much of their roaring success should be credited to Kohli and Dhoni, whose continuous guidance helped them express themselves.
“What we have achieved in South Africa has a lot to do with the way Kohli bhai and Dhoni bhai guide us in the middle. While you can all hear Dhoni bhai constantly guiding us on the stump microphone, it is Kohli bhai who actually plans it all. It is a complete work of two individuals who are brilliant when it comes to first planning and then implementing the plans,” said Kuldeep in an interview with CricketNext.
“Credit has been given to us (Kuldeep and Chahal) for taking India home in the limited-overs series, but we couldn’t have been half as effective had it not been for the two senior pros guiding us. You need a skipper who backs you and believes in your ability to shine on the big stage. You think we could have been so successful if Kohli bhai had not given us the freedom to attack? I don’t think so,” he further added.
Their successes, however, came at a cost as both the bowlers were taken to the stands by South African batsmen on occasions that eventually cost India a game. The Pink ODI in Johannesburg saw Kuldeep and Chahal going for 51 and 68 runs respectively, as India lost the game by five wickets. However, the young spin prodigy believes that he will continue with his flighted deliveries regardless of the kind of pitches and runs he concedes.
“My role is to attack and also abide by the directions given by the skipper. I don’t really give the wicket much importance. I am an attacking bowler and I believe that if I can do my job, the wickets will come. Chahal telling me in Durban that the wicket had sharp turn gave me further confidence,” said Kuldeep.
0
0
0
0
0
0