New Delhi, Apr 3:
Chinaman bowlers are becoming a rarity in India and world cricket, but KKR spinner Kuldeep Yadav is confident that more people will take it up after seeing him perform even though his craft is “very tough”.
With only South Africa’s Paul Adams and Australia’s Brad Hogg coming to mind when the art of chinaman bowling — left-arm wrist spin — is discussed in world cricket, Kuldeep, who started off as a medium-pacer and only shifted to spin bowling on the insistence of his coach Kapil Pandey at the Kanpur Cricket Academy, believes the craft will certainly grow.
“Not many players try Chinaman bowling. I hope people give it a go after seeing me. Some say that it’s very tough, yes, tough it is but I would say ‘practice makes the man perfect’. I believe the world will see a lot of chinaman bowlers in the near future,” Kuldeep told PTI in an interview.
West Indies’ Sunil Narine played a big part in KKR becoming champions last season and Kuldeep is happy to share the dressing room with the impactful off-spinner.
“Sunil Narine is no doubt among our premier spinners and a senior spinner in the team. I feel really honoured to be bowling with him. It also acts as a challenge to lift your game when a bowler at the other end is bowling well. We have bonded well as spinners of the team and have started to understand each other a lot,” Kuldeep said.
The 20-year-old also opined that spin bowling plays a big part in T20 cricket.
“It depends on the conditions, whether we heavily rely on the spinners or not. If we are playing an away game and it is a turning wicket then yes, we rely on our spinners, who as you must have seen, are top class. So if the opposition gets off to a quick start then the onus falls on the spinners to do the containing act and get wickets as well.
“So it always helps to good spinners in the team. In Kolkata, the ball comes a little slower onto the bat and there the spinners also come into play,” he said.
After making waves in the UAE when he became the first Indian to take a hat-trick in the ICC Under-19 World Cup, Kuldeep was bagged by KKR in 2014 February auctions post his two-year stint with Mumbai Indians.
The youngster is definitely looking to break into the bigger league.
“It all depends on one’s performance. We will just have to wait and see. Every tournament, every match is crucial in terms of getting forward in my career,” he said. (PTI)
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