Not Harbhajan! Kuldeep Says He Learnt A Lot From This Bowler During His KKR Stint
Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine were teammates in Kolkata Knight Riders for a long time, after which the former switched to the Delhi Capitals.
Delhi Capitals spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who played for the Kolkata Knight Riders from 2014 to 2021, has admitted that he learnt a lot from Windies’ Sunil Narine during his time with the current defending champions, revealing how the latter taught him the importance of bowling length deliveries.
Kuldeep and Narine were teammates in Kolkata for a long time, after which the former switched to Delhi, while Narine has continued to be with the defending champions for over a decade.
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Kuldeep was bought for Rs 40 lakhs in the IPL 2014 auction by Kolkata.
“As a bowler, you must aim to dominate. Players like Jasprit Bumrah and Sunil Narine have done that consistently. I learned a lot from Sunil Narine when I was with KKR. He was ahead of his time. He always emphasised the importance of bowling length," Kuldeep said while speaking on JioHotstar.
“Back then, I believed I could rely solely on my skills, but now I realise he was right. Since returning from injury, I’ve focused a lot on my length and that has made a significant difference," Kuldeep added.
Kuldeep said that it is tough to maintain a good economy rate in the Indian Premier League, given the top-notch batters competing in the tournament.
“The IPL is very tough for bowlers — it’s highly competitive. You may pick up wickets, but you can’t always expect to maintain an economy of just 6 or 7 runs per over. It’s a challenging format with high-quality players," Kuldeep said.
After playing as a support bowler to Narine, Kuldeep is now partnering Axar Patel as the pair aim to guide Delhi to their maiden IPL title. The spinner said that his bonding with Axar is at a different level.
“Axar and I have been playing together since our U-17 days, so our understanding is very smooth. We have a very clear-cut communication style. I remember during the U-19 World Cup in 2012, when we won in Australia under Unmukt Chand’s captaincy, we were both in standby," Kuldeep said.
The star spinner was seen in action against the Lucknow Super Giants on Monday, where he bowled a very economic spell of 4-0-20-2.
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