Kuldeep Yadav is the only Indian bowler to have taken two hat-tricks in ODIs -- against Australia in 2017, and the West Indies in 2019.
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav is the only bowler from the country to have taken two ODI hat-tricks. He took his first hat-trick against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2017, and two years later, repeated the feat against West Indies.
In an interview with his Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, Kuldeep opened up on his first hat-trick in ODIs, which came at KKR's home ground.
The chinaman spinner revealed that he was "confused" about what variation to bowl and sought help from MS Dhoni, who was behind the stumps at the time.
"I spoke to Virat bhai and asked him if I could bowl from the other end. He said once Chahal’s spell was over, I could bowl from that end. I struck a very good rhythm and started bowling in the spot," Kuldeep told KKR.
"I got my first wicket of Matthew Wade and then in the next ball I plucked Ashton Agar. For the third ball, I asked Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) what to bowl. When you have so many variations, you get confused. He just let me do whatever I felt was right but suggested that I kept it to the stumps.
"I kept a slip and gully in place. Luckily I bowled a good ball and got the edge. Getting a hat-trick at Eden Garden, that too in the first year of international cricket, is a big thing and this was one of the biggest moments of my life. For the second hat-trick, you might not believe me, but I had told my mom that day that I would take a hat-trick. A lot of times, what I said turned out true. I guess it was just a random moment when we were batting against the Windies that I just realised I would take a hat-trick. Things panned out just the way I had planned."
Kuldeep will be next seen in action in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, which begins on September 19. Talking about his expectations from the upcoming season, he said that KKR can win the title if they find the right combinations.
"I had a strong feeling last year that we would win. Even in 2018, we were playing great cricket and I was sure we would win the title," said the Indian bowler.
"I remember the match we lost against Sunrisers Hyderabad (in qualifier 2). I was out of the ground because my spell was over. They were on 125 and I thought they would not go beyond 145. But Rashid Khan came into the middle and changed the game. We were just one step away from entering the final. It was a heart-breaking moment when we lost the match. If we can strike a good combination, we can certainly win it this year. After all, it’s cricket, we will win sooner or later."
