The art of chinaman bowling is becoming a rarity in the world of cricket, but ask Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Kuldeep Yadav and he would tell you that after seeing him perform, many would take u to this extremely tough art of bowling.
"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," Kuldeep said.
Chinaman bowling is usually synonymous to the likes of Paul Adams from South African and Brad Hogg, who were masters of the art.
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 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.
The 20-year-old, who started off as a medium-pacer, before shifting to spin bowling on the insistence of his coach Kapil Pandey at the
Kanpur Cricket Academy, opined that spin bowling plays a big part in T20 cricket.
"It depends on the conditions, whether we heavily rely on the spinners or not. If we are playing an away game and it is a turning wicket then yes, we rely on our spinners, who as you must have seen, are top class. So if the opposition gets off to a quick start then the onus falls on the spinners to do the containing act and get wickets as well.
"So it always helps to good spinners in the team. In Kolkata, the ball comes a little slower onto the bat and there the spinners also come into play," he said.
After making waves in the UAE when he became the first Indian to take a hat-trick in the ICC Under-19 World Cup, Kuldeep was bagged by KKR in 2014 February auctions post his two-year stint with Mumbai Indians.
The youngster is definitely looking to break into the bigger league.
"It all depends on one's performance. We will just have to wait and see. Every tournament, every match is crucial in terms of getting forward in my career," he said.
Praising skipper Gautam Gambhir for backing youngsters, Kuldeep said he is blessed to play under the veteran Indian opener.
"I feel happy and blessed to be playing under Gauti bhai. He is a very good human being. He not only backs the team but also supports all the youngsters in the side. I feel lucky to be playing under a leader who trusts your abilities.
"Even when I was not a part of KKR, he supported me and now ofcourse he keeps backing me to do well," he said.
Kuldeep also feels great to have Wasim Akram as the bowling coach of KKR.
"I share a great rapport with Wasim bhai. I try and grasp whatever I can from his wealth of experience. I keep talking to him on the field, talking about his various experiences in his playing days. He is always happy to share his knowledge.
"The talk is not really centered around bowling in particular, but he tells about how he would react to a particular situation and that really helps," he said.
