Despite having a miserable time in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) for KKR, India spinner Kuldeep Yadav is looking forward to making a big impact in his maiden World Cup campaign.
The left-armed wrist-spinner has several expensive outings for Kolkata Knight Riders before being dropped from the playing XI for the latter stages of the IPL. His drop in form will be a concern for India given how important he is to the team’s plans for the World Cup but Kuldeep is not worried.
“You can say that (IPL 2019 being the toughest phase of his career),” Kuldeep told ESPNcricinfo in an interview.
“In the two years I have been playing, everything was working nicely. But I now want to look forward to the World Cup.
“I could have been a bit more strong mentally. I could have increased my focus a bit. I lacked the focus and the planning – that was my big learning.”
While his IPL form has been a big talking point of late, Kuldeep has continued to receive support from India skipper Virat Kohli ever since he made his international debut two years ago.
The young spinner has credited the captain’s confidence in him as a big reason for his strong showings so far at the international level.
“It is a very big thing when your captain believes in you. Virat has always had belief in (Yuzvendra) Chahal and me,” Kuldeep said.
“He believes both of us can take wickets at any time in a match, that we can change the game at any time. Even if we have a bad match or if we go for runs, he does not say anything. He trusts us, gives us the freedom to bowl the way we want to.
“He just says: I want wickets. He tells us that even if we go for five or ten runs extra, it’s not an issue as long as we are getting wickets. When he believes that you are one of his main players, it is a good sign that your captain is supporting you.”
Kuldeep will now hope to put his IPL disappointments behind him when India open their 2019 World Cup campaign against South Africa at Southampton on Wednesday.
