'Sri Lanka tour important. I know I'll be back if I perform well': India's Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav is aware that only consistent performance can get him into India’s T20 World Cup squad. “Nothing parallels performance, and if I perform, I know I’ll definitely be back.”
Kuldeep Yadav’s career is not going in the right direction and the left-arm wrist spinner would perhaps be the first one to admit it. From being a regular in the Indian squad in all three formats and a first-XI preference in white-ball cricket, Kuldeep is now out of the Test side and hardly gets a game in limited-overs cricket. With the T20 World Cup less than four months away, the upcoming limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka is of utmost importance for Kuldeep.
The 26-year-old is aware that only consistent performance can get him into India’s T20 World Cup squad.
“Nothing parallels performance, and if I perform, I know I’ll definitely be back,” Kuldeep told The Telegraph.
The left-armer, who is the only Indian to claim two hat-tricks in international cricket, said a good outing in Sri Lanka followed by the IPL can guarantee him a place in the Indian limited-overs sides.
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“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,” Kuldeep said before the squad’s departure.
“And 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,” Kuldeep stated further.
Kuldeep went wicketless and conceded 68 and 84 runs in his last two ODI appearances for India in the home series against England. But the chinaman spinner is not too bothered about the outcome.
“When teams easily get 300-plus and that too, in 40 overs or so, you can understand how the conditions were. But I don’t want to blame the wickets or anything else.
“If I had bowled more good-length deliveries, I could’ve had an impact. The stuff I dished out was a little bit on the fuller length and on good batting wickets, playing shots off such deliveries becomes easy. At the same time, these mistakes happen when you don’t play regularly. Your rhythm then gets affected,” he said.