The pink ball isn't turning as much as a red one feels Kuldeep Yadav

One of the most difficult skills in cricket is to bowl Chinaman but Kuldeep Yadav is quite adept at the art now. Such is his control that he is able to hurl the wrong un’ too with expertise. But even Kuldeep who gives the leather a rip is finding it difficult to turn the ‘Pink ball’ which is currently on display at the Duleep trophy final where he is representing the India Red team.

The pink ball has got a lot of attention lately, some say it is better than the red and the white ones but many are complaining about its seam, Kuldeep too is among them.“The pink ball is not turning as much. Even when you are giving it a rip it is not turning. Yes, it is skidding through a bit. For me, I turn it more with the red ball. The pink one is also difficult for the spinners to grip. The ball doesnot have a portruding seam and therefore we are having problems gripping it,” Kuldeep told Sportskeeda a day before the final.

Turn or no turn, Kuldeep was quite excited about the fact that he would get to bowl against the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma who have been stalwarts of Indian cricket.“They are such great batsmen, it is a challenge for me to bowl against them and get it right. But the same time I am excited. Hopefully, my experience will be good. The approach won’t change much and I will try and stick to my line and length,” he said.

However, Kuldeep has not had the best of starts with figures of 1/97 to show for after first day’s play. The 21-year-old who hails from Kanpur,however, has had decent Ranji Trophy outings last season and also picked up a few crucial wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL). He therefore believes an Indian call up is not very far away.

“I have not thought about it much (the India call up). But I won’t lie, it is always there at the back of your mind but my main focus now in on the final. The only way I can make a debut for India is to take one game at a time and perform. So each game is important for me,” said Kuldeep who first stole the limelight in the U-19 World Cup in 2014.

“I also have to perform for the teams that I am playing in, so focus in on the Duleep trophy presently. All these matches are like a test for me, and maybe if I perform well I will get to wear the India shirt soon.” If he does make it to the national team he will have a certain Ravichandran Ashwin as his spinning partner, who is currently bowling at his peak.

Ashwin is the prime reason why India are winning outside the country

Speaking about the Tamil Nadu tweaker Kuldeep said,”He’s is obviously bowling very well. He is taking almost 4, 5 wickets in every innings. In every match, he is contributing. He has been playing a key role in winning Test matches for India.”If you see he is bowling in the right areas too, like in West Indies he picked so many wickets because of that. One of the prime reasons why India are winning so many Tests outside the country is also for Ashwin bhai (brother).”

Lately, there has been a boom of T20 cricket and Kuldeep too has featured in many, but the tweaker believes the longer format is the one where one’s skills are really tested. “I believe the longer format is much more difficult. In T20s you only have to bowl four overs and the batsman are trying to hit you with fielders near the fence so there’s always a chance you will get wickets,” he said.

“But in Test cricket you are the one who has to attack and take wickets as batsmen are looking to survive mainly, so they won’t give you easy wickets. So I believe the longer format is tougher.” Kuldeep might be a spinner now, but he never quite wanted to be one. He started off as left-arm fast bowler during his younger days but then his coach Kapil Pandey told him to bowl spin. At first he did not like the idea but then he gradually started bowling Chinaman.

“Actually I used to bowl fast when I was young. I used to love it. I am a big fan of Wasim Akram. So I started bowling fast when I was a kid. But then Kapil sir told me try out Chinaman. It was difficult at first but then I practiced hard. Now it comes very naturally,” he said. When questioned about his idol, Kuldeep’s reply was with a smile. “Shane Warne,” he said.

“From childhood I used to follow Shane Warne. Till now I watch his videos. He is an inspiration for me. I try and grip it like him, turn it like him. I try to copy him. He is my idol.”For the record Kuldeep has 42 first-class and 37 domestic Twenty 20 wickets.