One of t he t a l ki ng points from the India-Australia series was the performance of young spi nners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. Preferred over Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the pressure on Kuldeep and Chahal must have been high. And they delivered, especially Kuldeep. Kuldeep had a dream debut in the Test series in March, and since performed consistently each time captain Virat Kohli has thrown him the ball. The hat-t rick i n Kolkata a nd t he man-of-the-match award for the first T20 in Ranchi – for figures of 16/2 in his four overs - is testimony to his progress as a bowler.
But that’s when cricket, the sport, came into its own. Not without reason is sport a great l e vel l e r. I f t he Aust r a l i a n s were at sea against Kuldeep in Ranchi, they took the attack to hi m i n Guwahati. Moises Henriques looked like a novice and got bowled the first time, but thumped Kuldeep for multiple sixes in the second T20.
But Kuldeep will be wiser as a result. He will be a better bowler having experienced the batsmen going after him. One man who knows Kuldeep well and has followed his prog ress from close is Australian Chinaman bowler Brad Hogg, who Kuldeep says he has learnt from while sharing the dressing room for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
“He is an intelligent bowler to start with and always wants to pick wickets and that’s the key to success in short form cricket. As a spinner he will go for runs on occasion but that should never make him a defensive bowler,” says Hogg. “Even in Ranchi he conceded le s s r u n s b e c au s e he pic ke d up two wickets. I have bowled Chinaman all my life and yet I have been unable to pick his grip on occasions. No wonder some of the batsman have found it hard,” he added.
So did the Australians work him out by the end of the tour?
Hogg has an interesting take: “The Australians changed their s t r at e g y a g a i n s t Ku l de e p i n Guwahati. They decided to attack him and with the ball slightly wet because of the dew and the rain around, he wasn’t getting purchase from the wicket. And when Moises attacked him, he was left wanting.
“This is because he doesn’t have a faster ball in his repertoire yet. The more they attacked him the more the faster ball was needed. Look at his action closely. His hands are all over the place at times and that’s what has helped h i m when he i s b o wl i n g in rhythm.
“But the same thing can be counterproductive. When he was at-
tacked, he couldn’t bowl the faster delivery to push the batsman back because of his action. His action doesn’t allow him to bowl the faster ball. If you see my action, it was much faster than Kuldeep’s and I was able to bowl the faster one.
“He has great skill already and if he can add the faster delivery to his armoury he will be an even bet ter bowler. He is sti l l ver y young and it is only a matter of time before he does that.”
But Hogg is sure that the youngster will work it out, and hopes he takes the time out to do so. “He will do well to just take a bit of a breather before the next series and think things through. It always helps that way to readjust and come back stronger. He has a huge future ahead and can do great for India going forward, especially in the 2019 world cup.
“I would even say he will pick wickets away from India because of his ability to turn the ball on any wicket and that will help him and his team.”
Given that the 2019 World Cup is in England, he – as a wrist spinner – might be a better option than a finger spinner. Ashwin and Jadeja both looked flat in England during the Champions Trophy ea rlier t his year. This makes Kuldeep relevant to Kohli’s plans.
But he needs to mesh ability with temperament in the next year and a half if that is to happen. The early sig ns a re good. And it ’s good to see India persisting with Kuldeep in the series against New Zealand. The more he plays, the more he will mature. And with maturity he will add the skills that Hogg is sure he will.
No comments:
Post a Comment