IND vs ENG: Kuldeep Yadav reveals his plans to counter England's 'Bazball'

Kuldeep Yadav picked four wickets against England in the second test in Vishakapatnam.

‘Bazball’ reaped good rewards for England in India. England won the first test of the ongoing five-match test series against India in Hyderabad and had a few decent chances in the second test as well. England under head coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes have converted the side into a fighting unit across conditions. Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav thinks otherwise and currently he is enjoying this new challenge of playing against England’s ‘Bazball’ strategy.

Kuldeep Yadav played the second test against England in Visakhapatnam and picked up four wickets in the game. Kuldeep scalped three wickets in the first innings. He troubled English batters with his unusual spin bowling. Kuldeep believes that the ‘Bazball’ opens the door for bowlers to plan on how to restrict the flow of runs. England’s ‘Bazball’ approach is all about an attacking mindset.

Kuldeep ‘enjoying’ Bazball

Kuldeep Yadav spoke about countering Bazball during pre-match press conference in Rajkot and said that it allows the bowlers to improvise in the game. Kuldeep said, “Usually in Tests you’re not used to teams attacking you with this kind of approach (Bazball), but it also involves you a lot more. As a spinner it makes you more focused on how you want to bowl and what your approach is.”

Kuldeep further added, “Normally you play Tests, you don’t worry about batters attacking you, you’re only focused on how you want to get them out. But here the approach is different, they’re in attacking mode so you also have to plan how to restrict them. When they play shots, you have those many opportunities to take wickets. It’s interesting. The last game was my first (against Bazball), I enjoyed it a lot.”

Kuldeep Yadav played a test match after a gap of 13 months. He was included in the playing XI after Ravindra Jadeja‘s got ruled out of the match due to hamstring injury. Jadeja is now back in the squad for final three tests and most likely he will return to the playing XI in Rajkot test. The third test in Rajkot will begin on 15th February, Thursday.

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