T20 2018: A quality spinner can make batsmen dance, says Kuldeep Yadav

Kolkata's Kuldeep Yadav celebrates the wicket of Rajasthan all-rounder Stuart Binny in an T20 tie at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

Before Kolkata faced Rajasthan on Tuesday, young chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav was not having a great T20 this year, with just nine wickets from 12 outings. In a do-or-die situation against Rajasthan, he delivered the goods, taking 4-20 to help the hosts win by six wickets and keep their playoff hopes alive. The Kanpur-born spinner, 23, who has turned the tide many a times for India, speaks to mid-day about his rare art and the influence of former Australia leg-spin great Shane Warne.

Excerpts from an interview.

You started off playing cricket as a fast bowler. What made you switch to wrist spin?
Kuldeep Yadav: When I started playing cricket, I used to bowl fast. Then one day, my coach [Kapil Pandey] suddenly said 'henceforth, I want you to bowl spin'. The first ball I bowled was the chinaman. I didn't even know it was called a chinaman. He asked me to try bowling the same delivery again and I did. He then told me to persist with it. Wrist spin came naturally to me, though I hardly knew what I was doing. I was about 10 or 11 years old. But my coach ensured I worked hard on it.

As a chinaman bowler, do you rely on the mystery element, since there are very few of your ilk?
KY: If you're a mystery bowler, you'll be figured out in a couple of years, but if you're a classical, traditional spinner, you can play longer. My style is very natural, just like a leg-spinner. I don't have a caRajasthanom ball or any mystery ball, just the normal leg-spin, googly and flipper. My strength is to flight and turn the ball. I rely on getting the ball to turn and I have a few variations that a leg-spinner should possess. For me, if a spinner doesn't flight the ball or deceive the batsman in the air, he can't be called a spinner, regardless of the number of wickets he takes. For me, a true spinner is one who deceives the batsman. A quality spinner can makes the batsman dance. He should be able to work the batsman out and set a trap for him, like Shane Warne used to.

You often bowl the leg-break and the wrong 'un with the same cross-seam grip. Tell us about that.
KY: The idea is to confuse the batsman. If you bowl leg-spin with a cross-seam, the batsman tends to play for the wrong 'un because you don't usually deliver it that way. I do it to confuse the batsman, which is very important in the shorter formats.

What are the kind of discussions you've had with Shane Warne?
KY: We have spoken about body alignment. My body tends to open up a little when I bowl around the wicket, so basically about making a little adjustments. On the mental aspect, he told me that if you want to get wickets, you need to set a trap for the batsman. You need to play with the batsman's mind. You need to make the batsman think. He shouldn't be able to play freely. Hopefully, after the T20, we will meet in England and talk about bowling again.

The flipper seems to have gone out of fashion. Is that something you want to add to your repertoire?
KY: There are two or three variations of the flipper. I bowl the slider. I'm working on the other variation, which Warne used to bowl, the one that zips off the surface. That's taking a little time. It's a difficult ball to master as it requires more strength in the shoulder. That will come with age.

Has Kolkata's campaign this season been affected due to many injuries?
KY: Let's begin with myself. I got injured on the South Africa tour. I fractured my thumb. After that, Andre Russell and Chris Lynn weren't fit. It's very difficult to manage all these players. Then, as the T20 began, I recovered to a great extent. Russell improved and so did the others. But then, another couple of players got injured in the middle, like PC bhai [Piyush Chawla] in the last game. It's always difficult when the main players get injured at a crucial time. It has a huge impact.

Was your own injury playing on your mind?
KY: Definitely. I was bowling after a month's break. Leg-spinners take time to get into a rhythm and be accurate. As the T20 got under way, I struggled a little because of the month-long break. I started finding my rhythm only after four or five matches into the T20.

Before the last match against Rajasthan, you had not enjoyed a lot of success in the T20 this year. What do you attribute your change in fortune to?
KY: I was thinking that Warne will be present at the ground and he will be watching the match. It was a good platform, especially since someone I have always looked up to was watching the match. I was very motivated. It was a very important match for us. If we didn't do well, perhaps we would have lost our chance to qualify. I stuck to my basics and didn't try too much. I played with the batsman's mind. I attacked a lot because I wanted wickets.

What works for Yuzvendra Chahal and you as a pair of wrist-spinners?
KY: It's very important to bowl in partnerships. Our focus is exactly that, and to motivate each other. The middle overs are a crucial stage of an ODI. The team struggles if you don't pick wickets in the middle-overs. Our focus is always to pick two or three wickets during that period and stem the flow of runs. I've known Chahal for six years. We've played a lot of cricket with each other and understand each other well.

When you're under the pump in a match situation, who are the people you turn to?
KY: Obviously, if you have two big players like Virat Kohli and MS Singh Dhoni in the team, there's no one better to talk to. Mahi bhai keeps encouraging me from behind the wicket. Virat bhai keeps me going from covers. It's a good combination. They always motivate youngsters and give spinners a lot of freedom. It's fun how Virat bhai leads the team and the way Mahi bhai keeps talking to spinners. I never feel like I'm under pressure.

What was your experience of bowling with the pink ball under lights in domestic cricket like?
KY: My experience was pretty good. The ball was hard to pick for the batsmen at night. They had very little chance against wrist-spin at night because the seam of the pink ball is not very prominent. Against a quality wrist-spinner, batsmen will naturally have a problem with the flipper and the wrong 'un if they can't pick the seam. For me, that was a plus point.

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