For Kuldeep Yadav, match rhythm is non-negotiable. The left-arm wrist-spinner says the drift, loop and confidence he relies on only come once he has bowled a decent spell in the middle – something he barely managed during the recent Test tour of England, where India chose extra batting depth instead of a second spinner.
“In England, obviously, looking at the conditions and the combination of the team, I didn’t get a place in the XI,” he said before India’s final Asia Cup group fixture against Oman in Abu Dhabi. “But it was a very good time for me to work on myself, to improve my fitness and to give more volume to bowling, because it is very important.”
Kuldeep could have sulked; instead he hit the gym and the video room, building what he calls a “pattern” for training. “As a player, you learn a lot when you don’t play,” he explained. “When the team reacts to certain situations, you can judge from the outside. You have a lot of ideas when you are in this situation, as to how to react and how you can bowl. I got a lot of ideas from there.”
Communication, he says, was clear. “The communication [when he didn’t play] from Gauti [head coach Gautam Gambhir] was very clear. He was very straightforward. When you don’t play, it is very easy to blame someone. To take it constructively and improve is tough. There are two ways and players choose according to themselves.”
The first window to test the tweaks arrived in August’s Duleep Trophy. The scorecard lists 0 for 68 from 32 overs, but the exercise mattered. “It was very important for me to bowl there,” he said. “Bowling in nets and bowling in a match are very different. Obviously, you want to play after a long time. You want to perform well. But I didn’t have that much in my mind. I focused on my strength and tried to bowl in good areas.”
Since then, he has picked up seven wickets in two Asia Cup outings – 37 deliveries of classic wrist-spin craft. “Actually, my rhythm is set now,” he said. “I don’t have a problem with that. I think it is important to use small angles for bowlers. As a wristspinner, I always think about my release point, my finish, whether the body is transferring [weight forward] or not.”
That rhythm underpins India’s three-pronged spin option in T20 cricket. Kuldeep, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel have played enough franchise and international cricket to know each other’s lines and tempos. “Between me, Varun and Axar, we are very experienced in the T20 format and understand our roles very well,” he noted.
Former Pakistan quick Wahab Riaz, on commentary duty in the Gulf, paid a succinct tribute: “Kuldeep always one step ahead of batters.” It is praise the bowler appreciates but doesn’t dwell on. “The game is such that you have good and bad days,” Kuldeep reminded. “If you are not playing, you have time to improve on your own and become a better player when you get the chance.”
For now, the chance has arrived, and the rhythm – by Kuldeep’s own admission – feels right where he wants it.
