‘The thought of losing the World Cup final was haunting me’ – Kuldeep Yadav breaks silence on ODI World Cup 2023 finals loss
India’s ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav recently broke his silence after India’s failed campaign in the ODI World Cup 2023 finals as they lost the game to Australia by six wickets after an unbeaten streak throughout the tournament. Kuldeep recalled how the ODI World Cup 2023 finals loss affected him and impacted his mornings for the next 7 to 8 days as he was haunted by the memories of the loss.
Further, while talking about his performance in the third T20 match of India’s tour of South Africa, wherein he took yet another five-wicket haul, Kuldeep discussed that he was a little out of rhythm and was worried about his bowling but was never expecting that he would give such an exceptional performance, especially on his birthday.
“Starting was really difficult. The first 7 to 10 days were really tough. Whenever I was waking up, the thought of losing the World Cup final was haunting me. But life changes and moves on.”
“I got an opportunity to play in South Africa, I last played here in 2018 so I knew the conditions well. In cricket what you want never happens and you have to learn from them and implement those in future matches,” he added.
Kuldeep Yadav took a five-wicket haul against South Africa in the 3rd T20 match
While talking about taking his second five-wicket haul in T20 is special on his birthday against South Africa and the third T20, Kuldeep Yadav said, “It turned out to be a special day. I have never thought about taking five wickets. I just wanted the team to win, which is more important. I was concerned about my bowling because I was playing after some time, so I wanted to get my rhythm. It was perfect today. The ball was coming out well from the hand and the conditions too suited the spinners a bit.”
“In 2018, I was very new and after that, a couple of years I struggled with my injury, and post-surgery I came back and made a few changes in my bowling, especially in my run-up. Trying to be more aggressive and just trying to bowl much straighter and focussing on length,” he concluded.
