Kuldeep Yadav
India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tweaker Kuldeep Yadav made a stunning revelation about his wish to become a fast bowler while growing up. The left-arm wrist-spinner said that he could swing the ball both ways at the age of 10-11 years.
During a video on KKR's official Facebook page, the 26-year-old said that lack of growth led to him turning to spin bowling. Kuldeep, who was in India's squad for the recently-concluded Australia tour, also revealed that he initially was angry after switching to spin.
"Fast bowling appeared easy back then. I think I was good at fast bowling. Even my coach used to feel the same because my wrist would work well. I could swing the ball both ways even at the age of 10-11 years. But the hurdle was my lack of growth. So he asked me to switch to spin bowling," Kuldeep said.
"I was initially very displeased because I never liked spin and always wanted to be a fast bowler. I was angry, but when he told me to bowl spin, I tried and started off bowling chinaman (left-arm wrist spin) in the very first attempt," he added.
Kuldeep didn't go to training for days as he didn't want to leave fast bowling. The tweaker's coach, however, convinced him to come back and take up spin bowling. Kuldeep is expected to play a vital role in India's home Test series against England, scheduled to start from February 5 with the first opening Test in Chennai.
"I was very angry and didn't go to the ground for ten days, as I was determined to continue with fast bowling. But Sir said if I really wanted to play cricket and come to the ground, I had to take up spin bowling. So I went back to the academy after ten days," Kuldeep said.
"When Sir asked me to bowl spin, I don't know why, but I subconsciously decided to bowl chinaman (left-arm wrist spin). It just came out voluntarily. Even my Sir understood that it was a rare quality. So he spotted the talent and preferred working on it," he added.
