IND vs SL | This tour is very important for me, if I do well I will be back, reckons Kuldeep YadavÂ
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav has proclaimed that the upcoming Sri Lanka tour will be crucial for him, besides admitting that nothing parallels good performance. Kuldeep further added that the conditions in the ODIs against England were difficult but he wouldn't blame the conditions.
Indian left-arm unorthodox spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been in and out of the team for a while now. This year has been quite difficult for him, with the UP-born spinner only getting to play three international fixtures. His last appearance came in the high-scoring ODI series against England, where he got hammered to all the nooks and corners of the ground. Kuldeep played two games and gave away 152 runs in 19 overs at an economy rate of 8 per over and went wicketless.
After the ODI series, Kuldeep was part of the Kolkata-based franchise in the IPL but wasn't trusted enough to get a single game. However, he got picked in India's white-ball squad for the Sri Lanka tour, which will comprise three ODIs and T20Is each starting from July 13. Very well aware of the importance of the upcoming series, Kuldeep stated that he knows how crucial the series will be and understands that nothing can match good displays.
“Nothing parallels performance, and if I perform, I know I’ll definitely be back. This Sri Lanka tour is very, very important because, first of all, I’m not a part of the Test squad (in England). And secondly, this is one good opportunity to play and perform. Thereafter, we’ve got the IPL as well, which gives me another opportunity to be back in the reckoning,” Kuldeep told The Telegraph, reported HT.
The ongoing year is also the T20 World Cup year, with the Sri Lanka series likely to play a significant role in the selections for the ICC mega event. However, Kuldeep doesn't want to look too far ahead and wants to take one step at a time.
“And honestly, I’m not thinking much about a T20 World Cup berth now because it eventually boils down to how well I keep doing. There’s healthy competition in the squad, so I know what my job is,” Kuldeep stated.
Kuldeep also opened up on his poor displays against England, where he copped a heavy pasting. The 26-years-old said that the conditions were very tough, though he doesn't want to blame them. He also admitted to bowling the wrong lengths, something that happens with non-regulars often.
“When teams easily get 300-plus and that too, in 40 overs or so, you can understand how the conditions were. But I don’t want to blame the wickets or anything else. If I had bowled more good-length deliveries, I could’ve had an impact. The stuff I dished out was a little bit on the fuller length and good batting wickets, playing shots off such deliveries becomes easy. At the same time, these mistakes happen when you don’t play regularly. Your rhythm then gets affected,” he said.