When an athlete says, ‘I am in good form’, what does it actually mean? Perhaps it is about being in a zone where everything seems to be in sync. The kind of zone where your inner voice isn’t sowing the seeds of doubt. Maybe that athlete has found himself in a place where he or she is able to blend technique, temperament and intuition to reach a high level of excellence. There is also the other side of being in an auto-mode – Paddling through a phase where whatever you try isn’t good enough. A forgetful day where an athlete just can’t produce anywhere near his or her best.
Kuldeep Yadav, one of India’s frontline bowlers, experienced the second of those stages in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy game versus North East Zone. The left-arm wrist spinner couldn’t take a single wicket and gave away 97 runs, against the weakest side of the competition.
With the concerned authorities deciding to not stream the Duleep Trophy matches, it is difficult to gauge what exactly went wrong with Kuldeep. Perhaps he wasn’t imparting enough revs on the ball and generating drift. As Kuldeep himself once famously said, “get revs on the ball, generate drift, and take wickets”. Probably he had a problem or two with his approach to the crease.
The larger picture to look at is Kuldeep didn’t play a single competitive game between the Duleep Trophy encounter versus North East Zone and the IPL match against Punjab Kings on May 24. With Kuldeep not playing in any of the five Tests in England, he has most likely lost his rhythm. One can counter that hypothesis by observing that Kuldeep would have bowled enough overs in the net sessions in England. Unfortunately, a net session doesn’t simulate the intensity levels of a competitive match.
It could be a matter of taking just one wicket for Kuldeep in order to regain his confidence. A case in point is Kuldeep’s Champions Trophy campaign in the UAE. The wrist spinner had picked up a mere two scalps over two ODIs versus England and in India’s opening fixture of the Champions Trophy against Bangladesh.
Even when India faced Pakistan in that tournament, at one point, his figures read: 0 for 28. All that Kuldeep needed to rejuvenate himself was the scalp of Shaheen Afridi. He then tore through Pakistan’s middle and lower order to finish with figures of 3 for 40 from 10 overs. In a few days’ time, Kuldeep will enter familiar territory – UAE – with India participating in the Asia Cup. As and when Kuldeep gets an opportunity, the Indian think-tank will be hoping that the spinner can find the nuts and bolts of his rhythm in a matter of few minutes. It could be a matter of just taking one wicket.
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