Chinaman bowlers are becoming a rarity in India and world cricket, but KKR spinner Kuldeep Yadav is confident that more people will take it up after seeing him perform even though his craft is “very tough”.
With only South Africa’s Paul Adams and Australia’s Brad Hogg coming to mind when the art of chinaman bowling — left-arm wrist spin — is discussed in world cricket, Kuldeep, who started off as a medium-pacer and only shifted to spin bowling on the insistence of his coach Kapil Pandey at the Kanpur Cricket Academy, believes the craft will certainly grow.
“Not many players try Chinaman bowling. I hope people give it a go after seeing me. Some say that it’s very tough, yes, tough it is but I would say ‘practice makes the man perfect’. I believe the world will see a lot of chinaman bowlers in the near future,” said Kuldeep.
West Indies’ Sunil Narine played a big part in KKR becoming champions last season and Kuldeep is happy to share the dressing room with the impactful off-spinner.
“Sunil Narine is no doubt among our premier spinners and a senior spinner in the team. I feel really honoured to be bowling with him. It also acts as a challenge to lift your game when a bowler at the other end is bowling well. We have bonded well as spinners of the team and have started to understand each other a lot,” Kuldeep said.
