Indian wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav named Australia's Steve Smith and now-retired South Africa great AB de Villiers as the two most challenging batsmen he has bowled to in his career so far.
Kuldeep, who has played six Tests, 60 ODIs and 21 T20Is, explained why he has found life slightly more difficult when facing up against Smith and De Villiers than some of the other modern-day batsmen.
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"Smith plays me mostly off the back foot. He plays the ball very late as well, so it becomes challenging to bowl to him," Kuldeep told former India wicketkeeper batsman Deep Dasgupta in the latest episode of 'Cricketbaazi' on ESPNcricinfo.
"In ODIs, AB de Villiers is a good player. He has a unique style. Now that he’s retired, it’s a good thing! But other than him, I haven’t found any other batsman who I am sacred will hit me for a lot of runs," he said.
Kuldeep also talked about the indifferent performances he had last year, admitting that being dropped and not getting a consistent run in the side harmed his confidence.
"I prepared really well before leaving for the World Cup 2019 because I wanted to overcome my failure in IPL that year. Even though I didn’t pick up many wickets, I think I bowled well at the World Cup," he said.
"After that, I have been in and out of the team. If you are playing regularly, your confidence is high. If not, you are always under pressure to perform in the chances you get and your mind stays cluttered. I probably was at fault with my skills as well," added the 25-year-old.
The spinner then touched upon his highly successful pairing with leggie Yuzvendra Chahal, who he says has been like his "elder brother".
"He (Chahal) has always taken care of me, like an elder brother. Even now, after playing so many matches together, even off the field, he gives me advice on cricket as well as off cricket," said Kuldeep.
"He supports me, and this bond is visible on the field as well. We’ve never had competition between us, irrespective of which of us gets picked to play. In the last year or so, only one of us has gotten to play at a time," he added.
(Inputs from PTI)
