India vs England: Kuldeep Yadav Hoping To Impress With Red Ball After Lord's Debacle

Kuldeep Yadav, who is an integral part of Team India's scheme of things as far as limited overs cricket is concerned, had a tough time in England when the format shifted to Tests. Talking about his struggles with the red ball during the Lord's Test, Kuldeep said that the transition was not easy but he is hoping to impress and earn a recall to the squad for the two-match series at home against the West Indies in October. "There the conditions were such that only one spinner was needed. Here, there were some chances for me because sitting out of the team does not really help. In that perspective, these two games are very important. I can build my red-ball experience. If I get into rhythm now, then I will be in a better place against the West Indies when they come here," Yadav was quoted as saying by icc-cricket.com. 

Kuldeep was in India's playing XI for the second Test of the five-match series, but was completely ineffective as he conceded 44 runs in nine overs and remained wicketless. The 23-year-old Chinaman bowler didn't get a second outing, with England winning by an innings and 159 runs at the home of cricket.

However, Kuldeep was almost unplayable for England batsmen during the limited-overs leg of the tour. He recorded figures of 5/24 in the first Twenty20 International and also claimed a brilliant 6/25 in the first one-day international in Nottingham.

"You have to change your mindset when playing red ball," Yadav said. 

"You need to be patient. For me, it was very challenging to use the red ball after a gap because I was quite used to white-ball cricket, and then I was selected to the Test team.

"In ODIs and T20s you tend to try a lot of variations, but with the red ball you need to focus on your line and length."

Following his lacklustre performance, Kuldeep was dropped from the squad after the third Test. He returned to India to play in the four-day games against Australia A. India A lost the first of the two matches by 98 runs, but Yadav redeemed himself well, picking 2/63 and 2/51.

Virat Kohli's Team India conceded an unassailable 3-1 lead to England with the fifth and final game to be played at the Kennington Oval in London starting Friday.

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