SL vs IND | Rahul sir backed me and told me to enjoy bowling without worrying about results, reveals Kuldeep YadavÂ
Dravid with Dhawan ahead of departing for Sri Lanka
|After delivering a good performance against Sri Lanka, Kuldeep Yadav revealed that the team's coach Rahul Dravid had supported him immensely and asked him to just enjoy his bowling than worry about things. He also added that both he and Chahal back each other whenever they play together.
There was a lot of build-up to the reunion of KulCha for the Sri Lanka ODIs, and it translated into a very good performance too in the ODI series opener in Colombo on Sunday. Chahal, who was introduced in the 10th over, provided India with the breakthrough when he dismissed a dangerous-looking Avishka Fernando. But it was Kuldeep Yadav's twin strikes of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Minod Bhanuka that reduced the hosts to 89 for 3, and from there on, they went into a shell completely, ending up with a below-par total of 262.Â
KulCha combined to scalp four wickets for 100 runs in 19 overs and Kuldeep in particular, was very promising, ending with figures of 2/48 in nine overs. The left-arm wrist-spinner, post the game, talked about the influence of India's interim head coach Rahul Dravid and revealed that he backed him to perform well.
"Nervousness is always there when you step out to the field. Rahul Sir backed me and he motivated me. We talked a lot and he told me to enjoy my bowling and not worry about the result. I am happy that I performed well. Obviously, you are nervous when you play cricket after a long time, the way the team performed, I am very happy with it," Kuldeep said in an online presser after the game.
It was the first time since the World Cup 2019 when Kuldeep and Chahal took the field together for India in an ODI. Kuldeep stated that he loves bowling with Chahal as they have got a nice bond going with each other.
"Very happy that after a long time Chahal and I got to play together for the team. We are comfortable with each other and we back each other. We both share inputs on the field whenever it is required, the bonding is nice between us both. We performed well together, we played after a long time and it orders well for the side," Kuldeep stated.
Kuldeep got a lot of purchase from the wicket and was turning the ball more than four degrees, the most among the Indian spinners. He also mixed up his flight and variations well. He said that he was just trying to vary his pace.
"I was trying to vary my pace as the wicket was dry in the first innings. The wicket offered some assistance for the spinners, I was varying my pace depending on the batsmen. Very happy with the way team performed in this match," he said.
Staying in bubbles has become a norm in cricket but for players, it's never easy. The UP spinner reckoned that living in a bubble is tough, especially when you aren't playing.
"We have come to play cricket here. We are lucky that we are getting to play cricket. There are many youngsters in the side, we are not worried about what anyone is saying. We are just here to enjoy our cricket. It is difficult to stay in bubbles, when you are not playing there are doubts that can creep in. It's sport at the end of the day, someone gets the chance and someone doesn't," he added.
