Kuldeep Yadav had a bad run of form in IPL 2019 for KKR
Snaring his maiden five-wicket haul in ODI cricket against England in July 2018, courtesy of the wicket at Trent Bridge, Kuldeep Yadav registered his best ever ODI figures of 6/25 in India's tour of England last year and with the 2019 ICC World Cup being hosted in England and Wales, the genteel chinaman is looking forward to what he describes as 'perfect' conditions to bowl in.
Despite a lacklustre show in the recently concluded 12th edition of the Indian Premier League, Kuldeep hopes to move on and deliver in the quadrennial tournament which begins May 30. Admitting that he wasn't up to the mark in the cash-rich T20 league, the chinaman is looking forward to the mega tournament.
In a telephonic interview with indiatvnews.com, Kuldeep said that his IPL performance won't affect his World Cup form and he is back on track on getting his basics right.
"I didn't play too many matches this season (IPL), I wasn't up to the mark as expected. The T20 format is like this, its a power hitting game and nearly every spinner or bowler leaked runs at Eden. Now the World Cup coming, it's a 50 over game, plenty of changes will be made which I'm working on and hope to deliver," Kuldeep told IndiaTV.
"The IPL performance won't affect my World Cup. Im working and getting my basics right."
Shifting focus onto the World Cup, Kuldeep is ecstatic on bowling in England conditions. The chinaman registered his best figures of 6/25 in the 1st ODI of the three-match series in England last year during India's tour of England. At the time, he also became the first left-arm wrist spinner to pick up 6 wickets in ODI cricket and the second left-arm spinner after Brad Hogg to pick up a five-wicket haul in ODIs.
"What a spinner wants is there in England. The dip, the turn, the weather is good and perfect condition for a spinner to bowl. I enjoyed the last time I bowled their and hopeful we get the same wicket again. I enjoy bowling abroad," said the chinaman.
The 24-year old hopes to contribute by seeing off the middle-overs by claiming wickets along with his partner in crime, Yuzvendra Chahal.
"Middle overs are important in 50 overs. We (Yuzvendra Chahal) plan to claim wickets so that the slog overs don't get affected that much. We play to our strengths and hope to attack to get wickets. We try a few variations in the middle overs to claim wickets and Virat bhai backs us. We cannot allow the batsman to get comfortable, we have to get him to play shots that can lead to a wicket.
Asked which spinner (finger or wrist) will be successful on England tracks, Kuldeep believes that if the ball starts to turn, the batsmen will be in serious trouble.
"If the ball turns, it will trouble the batsman. According to me, be it a wrist spinner or a finger spinner, if the ball turns then it will be difficult for the batsmen," concluded Kuldeep.
The Men in Blue will play two warm-up matches before opening their World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 5, followed by India vs Australia on June 9.
