'Good partnership with Kuldeep helps to get wickets', says Yuzvendra Chahal
Cardiff: Ahead of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal said that his "good partnership" with spinner Kuldeep Yadav helps the pair earn wickets.
"I have a good bonding with Kuldeep. We deliver with good partnership and trust each other. Trust matters a lot! If you see... like Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar), (Mohammed) Shami and (Jasprit) Bumrah. If Kuldeep and I have bowled a tight spell we know we stand a better chance to earn wicket," Chahal said.
"If I concede runs then he knows how he has to bowl the next over and vice versa. Whatever we do, we do in partnership. If you do well for your country then obviously you have more responsibilities on your shoulders. Kuldeep and I are like if there is pressure we need to perform more as it will help the team," he added.
Playing in his first World Cup, Chahal said the second warm-up match against Bangladesh has boosted his confidence. The 28-year-old returned with figures of 3-55, including the crucial wicket of Liton Das. India secured a comfortable 95-run win over Bangladesh.
"I am confident and a little bit excited as well as it is my first World Cup. I have not played India U-19 or anything as such before this. It was our last practice match. Now we directly have our first match on June 5 (against South Africa). If you leave for it with a good performance here (in a warm-up match) obviously it boosts confidence," he said.
Chahal and Kuldeep have become the world's spin prodigies in the past two years. Being aware that opposition teams know their secrets, Chahal said they too watch videos of other team players to know what they are delivering. He further said that having played in the IPL, he knows the batting of players like David Warner and Jos Buttler so the team has come with plans.
"If you are playing in any team or even if you represent your country some pressure is there. This is a World Cup so all the eyes are on you. But Kuldeep and I are very excited for our first World Cup. It has been almost two years that we (Kuldeep and I) are playing together so if opponents watch our videos then we too watch theirs," Chahal said.
"We keep trying something or other. Our variations remain the same but the way we deliver on a particular wicket to a particular batsman that is more important for us. We played IPL a lot and I played in Chinnaswamy a smaller ground. I have bowled to almost everyone like Warner, Buttler. So, we came here with our plans," he added.
World Cup is set to run from May 30 to July 14. India will open its campaign against South Africa on June 5 at Hampshire Bowl, Southampton.
