Indian leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has time and again talked about his combination with veteran Indian wicketkeeper MS Dhoni and how the experience of the former captain has helped him immensely in his career so far. But the 38-year-old has bveen out of action for almost a year now, urging the management to lean on Rishabh Pant and now KL Rahul for the responsibility behind the stumps. But Kuldeep reckons that the combination with Dhoni was mere teamwork and not that he was dependent on the senior cricketer.
Since the World Cup last year, when Dhoni last played for India, Kuldeep has played three T20I matches, taking four wickets, averaging 13.76, while in the eight ODIs he played in the period, the chinaman managed 10 wickets at 48.90.
Speaking to Times of India, Kuldeep says that the absence of Dhoni will give him the opportunity to work on his craft.
"Of course (when asked if things have been different in Dhoni's absence). Mahi bhai has always guided me, because the wicketkeeper is always the best judge of the bowler. Someone like Mahi bhai is experienced and has an idea about how a batsman plays. All of this is teamwork. Just because Mahi bhai hasn’t played after the World Cup, I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. I don’t need to say if I was dependent on him. I can just work towards bettering my craft and as I said, it’s teamwork," said Kuldeep.
Kuldeep also spoke about the saliva ban imposed by the ICC in a bid to contain the coronavirus, saying that a good shine will help spinners get the ball to drift in the air.
"It will be difficult for every bowling unit. It will affect both fast bowlers and spinners because when you get a good shine on the ball, as a spinner it helps you get drift in the air. Not using saliva will be challenging because we have been using it since childhood. It is an instinctive reaction when you get the ball in your hand. Changing that habit will be a challenge," he explained.
