“I keep myself relaxed when I'm not playing” - Kuldeep Yadav on being dropped despite good performances

Team India’s left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has asserted that being in-and-out of the playing XI is something normal for him as he has been playing international cricket for nearly six years now.

The 28-year-old was the Player of the Match for his brilliant figures of 4/6 in three overs as India beat West Indies by five wickets in the opening ODI at Bridgetown in Barbados on Thursday.

Kuldeep has come up with highly impressive performances in recent times. However, he has been dropped from the playing XI more than once despite making an impact.

Reflecting on the same, the left-arm wrist-spinner said:

"On a lot of occasions, the situation and due to the combination, I have to sit out. It's pretty normal for me as I've been playing international cricket for close to six years. I keep myself relaxed when I'm not playing. When you're playing, there's pressure to perform well.”

On his excellent bowling effort in Barbados, Kuldeep reiterated what he has been saying so often in recent matches - that he is not thinking too much about taking wickets and is focusing on the process.

The spinner explained:

“Since my return from injury last year, I've been trying to consistently bowl the right lengths. Sometimes you get wickets, sometimes you don't even when you bowl well, but length is very crucial especially for the spinners. When the opposition loses a few wickets, then I try my variations for wickets. Happy with the way I started in the first ODI."

While Kuldeep claimed 4/6, Ravindra Jadeja also impressed with 3/37. India bowled out West Indies for a mere 114 in 23 overs.

---

“They [West Indies] bowled really well” - Kuldeep on India’s unconvincing chase

Even though the bowlers did a great job in the first ODI against West Indies, the batters were not as clinical. The Men in Blue lost five wickets in the chase before getting home in 22.5 overs.

Kuldeep acknowledged that the visitors could have been more proficient in the chase, but credited West Indies for some good bowling.

He commented:

"We could have chased it down with just one or two wickets down. But they bowled really well. The new guy was very good and the left-armer as well. You want to give opportunities to the younger boys, we did that. In the next game, you'll probably see the full side batting and hopefully we can win the second one and win the series."

India opened with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill in the chase, with skipper Rohit Sharma batting at No. 7.