Spinner Kuldeep Yadav has stated that he’s looking forward to the upcoming limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka. He sees this as a great opportunity to be back in the playing XI of the main squad ahead of the much-awaited ICC 2021 T20 World Cup.
After making a brilliant entry into international cricket, Kuldeep Yadav found his place across all three formats of the game. The 26-year-old had become a regular member of the white-ball cricket team before his performances started dipping in recent months. Yadav’s Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has also started sidelining him since the 2020 edition in the UAE.
However, the Chinaman bowler is confident of doing well for the national side against Sri Lanka. In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Yadav said:
“This Sri Lanka tour is very, very important because, first of all, I’m not a part of the Test squad (in England). And secondly, this is one good opportunity to play and perform. Thereafter, we’ve got the IPL as well, which gives me another opportunity to be back in the reckoning.”
The Kanpur-born also talked about his chances of being included in the T20 WC squad of the Virat Kohli-led side.
“Nothing parallels performance, and if I perform, I know I’ll definitely be back. Honestly, I’m not thinking much about a T20 World Cup berth now because it eventually boils down to how well I keep doing. There’s healthy competition in the squad, so I know what my job is,” he added.
“I speak to Hirwani sir a lot also regarding the mental aspect”
Kuldeep Yadav also revealed that he consults former India spinner Narendra Hirwani about the mental aspect of the game.
“Hirwani sir is mentally very strong. It’s not necessary that you should be told only about bowling and stuff related to it, your mindset matters too. So I speak to him a lot also regarding the mental aspect and it helps me,” Kuldeep concluded.
Team India, led by its newly-appointed skipper Shikhar Dhawan, has recently reached Colombo ahead of the six-match series. India and Sri Lanka will play three ODIs and three T20Is, starting from July 13.
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