Cardiff: Immensely relieved to see Kuldeep Yadav regaining some form before World Cup, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal says it is certainly good news for India, who are set to open their campaign against South Africa June 5.
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep was not his best yet returned a three-wicket haul against Bangladesh, foxing the ‘Tigers’ numerous occasions.
It was after a depressing IPL, where he struggled to get wickets and was also dropped by his side.
“I am so happy the way Kuldeep made a comeback and showed the confidence and it is a good for the team ahead of the World Cup,” said Chahal after India’s 95-run victory.
“We trust each other. We know each other for last 7-8 years and we have a good bonding on and off the field. If I bowl first then I talk to him about how the wicket is behaving and he talks to me if he is bowling first,” he added. “Before a match we always plan, like if can can bowl more googlies or sliders to a particular batsmen.”
It is a well-known fact that wrist spinners possess more variations compared to finger spinners and Chahal it is only good for the Indian team.
“So if we have 3-4 variations then batsmen have to think which ball is coming,” said Chahal, who is a part of the pool of wrist spinners, tipped to play a pivotal role in the World Cup, beginning Thursday.
Talking about his performance against Bangladesh, the 28-year-old, who also took three wickets, said, “I tried to vary my pace especially in a small ground like this. In such grounds, you need to understand what the batsman is going to do, you might go for a six or a four but how you come back that is important for me.”
“I got to bowl 10 overs. The wicket was not easy for the bowlers and batsmen were attacking. So me, Kuldeep (Yadav) and Jaddu pa (Ravindra Jadeja) tried to vary the pace,” he said.
India amassed 359 for seven against Bangladesh with KL Rahul and MS Dhoni blasting individual hundreds. Chahal said the big total took pressure off the spinners as they could flight the ball more.
“Before the World Cup starts if the batsmen give you a big total, obviously, it is a good chance for the bowlers. 350 is very difficult to chase, so you can flight the ball,” he said.
“When you are defending such a total, there is no pressure on the bowlers to start with. There is more pressure on the batsmen because they have to chase 360-370 and they have to hit almost every ball,” he added.
PTI