India wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is indebted to West Indies stalwart Sunil Narine for instilling in him the importance of bowling length balls, which, he says, has helped him become a more potent tweaker.
Kuldeep and Narine were team-mates at Kolkata Knight Riders for a long time, following which the Indian spinner made a switch to Delhi Capitals, while the West Indian all-rounder continues to be with the defending champions for more than 10 years.
"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, who was part of India's Champions Trophy-winning squad recently, told JioHotstar.
"Back then, I believed I could rely solely on my skills, but now I realise he was absolutely right. Since returning from injury, I've focused a lot on my length, and that has made a significant difference," said Kuldeep, who played a crucial role in DC's nerve-wracking one-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants, grabbing two wickets for 20 runs in Visakhapatnam.
The 30-year-old left-arm spinner added that it's extremely difficult to maintain a good economy rate in the IPL given the presence of top-notch power hitters 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," he said.
After playing as a support bowler to Narine, Kuldeep is now partnering Axar Patel as the duo aim to guide DC to their maiden IPL title.
The wrist spinner says 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. We've been together since then, which speaks volumes about our bond.
"Our bowling partnership has always been simple. I have always been an attacking bowler, while Axar provides control, which creates pressure on the batsmen.
"That pressure often converts into wickets — either for him, for me, or for someone else bowling at the time. The pressure Axar builds in the middle overs is crucial, and our communication is seamless when discussing plans," he added.
