IPL 2021: Kuldeep Yadav reveals two toughest batsmen to bowl to in the tournament

Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s struggle for consistency has been known for quite some time now. The 26-year-old made a formidable partnership with Yuzvendra Chahal not too long ago, when it seemed that he would be able to make the spot inside the team for as long as he wants.

Cut to 2021, he is no more a part of India’s first-choice players, while his partnership with spin counterpart Chahal stands broken for long. He lost his guile and control, becoming rather predictable for batsmen, and the things went awry for him in the Indian Premier League too.

Yadav had an impressive 2017, scalping 12 wickets at an average of 28.33 in 12 IPL matches. His breakthrough season was the following one in 2018, when he bagged 17 at 25.58 from 16 games. But a steep decline since then has lasted until now.

In the 2020 edition, he could pick only one wicket, and is yet to get a game in the current edition. Despite that, he remains hopeful about playing his first game in the ongoing edition. “Only three matches have happened so far. I’m hoping to get a place in the final XI soon, and I will perform well.”

Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers the toughest to bowl to

On being asked to pick two batsmen who are the most challenging to bowl to, Kuldeep named Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman AB de Villiers and the Mumbai Indians (MI) He feels that while De Villiers, the 360-degree player, can slam a bowler in any corner of the ground at will, Rohit takes some time before he plays his scintillating shots.

“I find it difficult to bowl against AB de Villiers and Rohit Sharma. De Villiers can smash the ball in any corner of the ground, while Rohit has plenty of time,” added Kuldeep.

During the discussion, he was asked to name two players he feels are the IPL legends. He was quick to respond “If we look from the beginning, then MS Dhoni and Chris Gayle are truly the legends of IPL as they have been performing well since the first season,” remarked Kuldeep.