Chennai, April 4: Ahead of Delhi Capitals taking on five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav stated that his key focus on excelling in the tournament has been about getting his lengths right.
While CSK are coming on the back of two consecutive defeats, DC are arriving without losing any game in the tournament. “In all the formats, I am especially focusing on the length. Length is very important, and it’s been like my fourth year with DC, so nothing changes. You get mature after playing so many games and understand what your strength is, and obviously spinning the ball is my strength.
“So, I am just keeping it very simple by focusing on the length and we have been talking about that. I talk about this a lot in all the interviews I have done. So, the length is the key for me,” said Kuldeep in the pre-match press conference on Friday.
The match will also be interesting from a left-arm wrist-spinner face-off perspective, as CSK have one in Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad, who’s been their standout spinner so far. Kuldeep revealed Noor has been known to him personally and he had chats with him about the art of left-arm wrist-spin bowling.
“He is bowling really well and I know him personally. He is someone who is trying to learn from everyone. We had a chat last night as well. I was sitting with him and we had a chat about how to go about the leg spin. Obviously, he has a lovely wrong’un and with that kind of a pace, it’s very difficult for a batter to pick and especially when you play in Chennai, it’s always very difficult to score against any wrist-spinner.
“I believe wrist spin, whether you bowl right or left arm, you have to adapt and learn the skill of spinning the ball and that’s what I have done over the years. Even now, I just look at how I can improve and become a better spinner, especially when my target is to play with the red ball as well.
“So, you have to develop that skill as well to spin the ball – like the normal deliveries like the chinaman, the normal leg spin. When you play T20 format, it’s totally different because you have to contain the runs as well. But at the same time, you have to pick wickets in the middle,” he elaborated.
The match-up of Kuldeep and captain Axar Patel against CSK’s misfiring top order will be a decisive contest in deciding the game’s outcome. But the spinner himself admitted there hasn’t been much special preparation to outclass the likes of Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad, apart from CSK’s designated spin hitter in Shivam Dube.
“Not really, to be honest. They are all quality players and when you play in T20 format, they have to take on the ball. So, obviously, you have seen in a lot of games and my plan is very simple to get them out – as simple as that.
“You have to stay relevant in every game and you have to practice each and every day in order to just keep working on reading the batters, like what they are doing, especially on game day and that’s what I’m doing. I’m just trying to read the batter, what they are doing and sticking with my strength, as it means that I will be keeping things very simple.”
Kuldeep signed off by saying he doesn’t put much thoughts into sequencing his deliveries in T20s, something that is the complete opposite of what fellow wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy does. “Varun has been brilliant for the last one year. Obviously, he has been doing very well for KKR over the years.
“He has played some really good cricket coming up to this moment. Regarding me, I am very flexible. I don’t have any sequence like how to go about. Just read the batter, what he thinks of me and what is the best delivery to bowl to any batter. I don’t have any sequence like 1, 2, 3 – I don’t have it.”
–IANS
