NEW DELHI: In recent years, Kuldeep Yadav faced criticism in white-ball cricket for his deliveries lacking pace and not troubling batsmen enough. Despite these criticisms, no one provided him with a solution to address this issue, even as he suffered a significant knee injury during the COVID-19-affected IPL in the UAE in 2020. Now, as he has become India's most consistent ODI bowler over the past 18 months, Kuldeep shared an intriguing yet humorous answer when asked how he managed to increase the pace on his deliveries.
"Everyone told me my deliveries required pace but no one told me how to do it," Kuldeep, who dismissed David Warner and Glenn Maxwell in India's World Cup opener against Australia, stated matter-of-factly.
Kuldeep's adjustment in his bowling action was self-taught, but he did receive a valuable tip from former Team India physio Ashish Kaushik when he was beginning his rehabilitation after knee surgery.
"When I was returning from injury, physio Ashish Kaushik advised reducing the load on my right leg. After rehab, I incorporated that advice into my training and match situations, and I felt the difference. It wasn't an overnight change; it took around six months to regain my rhythm," he recalled his comeback journey.
Although the Chepauk pitch was challenging and offered turn, Kuldeep emphasized the importance of varying the pace, especially on such tracks.
"On a turning track, the speed at which the ball turns is crucial. Sometimes, tracks may be slow, so varying the pace becomes important," he explained.
When asked if the pitch on Sunday was a slow turner, Kuldeep noted, "I don't think so, but yes, I had to increase the pace of my deliveries. For instance, Glenn Maxwell didn't have time, and if you saw how Smith got bowled (to Jadeja), pace on deliveries becomes important along with turn," the Kanpur-born spinner clarified.
Regarding whether using three spinners is a viable strategy in the tournament, Kuldeep wasn't entirely sure but mentioned that playing with three spinners in Chennai has been effective over the years.
While acknowledging Maxwell's bowling performance, Kuldeep observed that he lacked support from Adam Zampa at the other end.
1/10:World Cup: India vs Australia numbers and stats
Reuters
2/10:India beat Australia
<p>India fought back from 2/3 — the lowest score at which the 3rd wicket has fallen from which a team has gone on to win an ODI — to beat Australia by 6 wickets. </p>TNN
3/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer have provided the first instance of three Indian batters out of the top four registering ducks in an ODI innings. </p>Getty Images
4/10:Virat Kohli, KL Rahul
<p>The 165-run stand between Virat Kohli and KL Rahul was India's best against Australia for any wicket in a World Cup game. </p>PTI
5/10:The match-winning stand
<p>The Kohli-Rahul partnership was also India's third-best for the fourth wicket in ODIs against Australia. </p>PTI
6/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Virat Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most runs by an Indian in white-ball ICC tournaments. </p>AFP
7/10:Kohli vs Tendulkar
<p>Kohli's extraordinary achievement came in his 67th match with 2785 runs, surpassing Tendulkar's record of 2,719 runs in 61 matches. </p>PTI
8/10:Ravindra Jadeja
<p>Ravindra Jadeja (3/28), not only produced his best bowling performance in the World Cup, but also his best vs Australia in ODIs. </p>Getty Images
9/10:Jadeja in World Cup
<p>Jadeja's previous best in the World Cup was 2/23 vs UAE at Perth on February 28, 2015. </p>Getty Images
10/10:Steve Smith
<p>Jadeja has dismissed Steve Smith 11 times, including five times this year, in 37 matches in international cricket. </p>TNN"If the other team had three quality spinners, it would have been challenging for us as a batting unit. I think Maxwell bowled well, but he didn't have support from the other end. In the ODI format, hitting the stumps is crucial for any spinner," Kuldeep added.
(With PTI inputs)
