Dubai [UAE], September 18 : Ahead of India's clash against Oman, Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who secured two back-to-back 'Player of the Match' awards on his return to playing XI, reflected on not playing during the Test tour of England and how one "learns a lot" when he does not play.
India, already qualified for the Super Four stage of the tournament, will take on Oman, who is yet to win a game, in a dead-rubber at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, on Friday.
Speaking on how challenging it was for him to bowl during the tournament after going almost two months without playing the England series, Kuldeep said during the pre-match presser, "Challenges are there, because when you play the first game, your rhythm is very important. If you play regular games, your rhythm is set. You have an idea of bowling, or you have an idea of spending time in the field, how you are reacting on the field."
"In England, obviously, looking at the conditions and the combination of the team, I did not get a place in the team. But obviously, it was a very good time for me to work on myself, to improve my fitness and to give more volume to bowling because it is very important. I learned a lot. As a player, you learn a lot when you do not play. When the team reacts to situations, you can judge from the outside. You have a lot of ideas that you are in this situation, how you react and how you bowl. I got a lot of ideas from there. After that, I played the Dilip Trophy match. I was wicketless. I bowled 35 overs. My rhythm was set. It was very important for me to bowl there," he added.
So far in two matches, Kuldeep has taken seven wickets at an average of 3.57, with a four-fer against the UAE being his best performance.
Speaking about his bowling, Kuldeep said that he does not think he is bowling that well.
"But I think I can improve and become better. Sometimes, you make a mistake in reading the batsman in this format. When you are at the top of a team and make small mistakes, you do not notice them. But you feel that you have made a mistake. I still have to work on that. I think I need to work more on bowling because there are more formats. It is important to know how the ball is moving in your hand. Whether you are happy with it or not. Only you can be the best judge," he added.
Kuldeep termed the wicket in Abu Dhabi as "perfect for a spinner" as they generate just the right amount of bounce and zip as compared to wickets here during the ICC Champions Trophy, where wickets were very slow and a lot of revs had to be put on the ball to get that extra bounce and pace.
Speaking on the Pakistan clash scheduled for September 21 in the Super Four stage, he said, "Pakistan is just another team and just another game. I have no special plan because for me it is just another batsman in front of me."
Kuldeep also recalled that when he was not playing in England, the communication with head coach Gautam Gambhir was very clear, and it was done keeping the combination in mind, not his skill.
"Sometimes, in 3-4 matches, I felt that I could play, but unfortunately, I could not play. Just because of the batting, I needed that. And the communication was very clear. I feel that that is a very important thing. Gauti was very straightforward. Sometimes, I felt that I could play, but as you know, because of the batting, I could not. But there was nothing about skill or batting. I could not make a place by looking at the conditions or the combination. But as far as time is concerned, I enjoyed my time a lot. I got to learn a lot," he continued.
"When you don't play, you learn a lot and you become a better player. Because you have a lot of ideas about how to react in a situation. It is very easy to blame someone. And it is very tough to take yourself inside and improve. What am I weak at? What should I work on? How should I become a better player? There are two ways. The player chooses for himself. Which way does he want to go? However, it is essential that you continue to work hard," he concluded.
Squads:
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana
Oman Squad: Aamir Kaleem, Jatinder Singh(c), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla(w), Wasim Ali, Hassnain Shah, Shah Faisal, Jiten Ramanandi, Aryan Bisht, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava, Mohammad Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Karan Sonavale, Ashish Odedara, Mohammad Imran, Zikria Islam, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Yousaf.