'It's a good thing that he's retired' - Kuldeep Yadav picks AB de Villiers as the toughest batsman to bowl

Kuldeep Yadav is one of India’s leading wicket-takers in ODIs and T20s since his debut in 2017. In the 60 ODI matches played by the chinaman, he has managed to take 104 scalps at an economy of 5.51. Talking about his T20I expeditions, the 25-year-old has plucked 39 wickets in 21 games.

The wrist-spinner recently revealed that he finds South Africa’s AB de Villiers the hardest to bowl in One-day Internationals. While showering praises, Kuldeep said that the South African stalwart is a good player as he bats with a ‘unique’ style. Kuldeep also reflected on his own performance in IPL 2019 and World Cup 2019.

In the latest episode of Cricketbaazi on ESPNCricInfo, Kuldeep said he is happy that he would not have to bowl to AB de Villiers anymore in the ODIs. De Villiers took retirement from all the formats of the game in 2018. The right-hander ended his international ODI career with 9577 runs and a staggering 25 centuries.

“In ODIs, AB de Villiers is a good player. He has a unique style. Now that he’s retired, it’s a good thing! But other than him, I haven’t found any other batsman who I am scared will hit me for a lot of runs,” Kuldeep told Deep Dasgupta.

I wanted to overcome my failure in IPL: Kuldeep Yadav

Last year’s edition of the IPL was a disaster for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowler. Kuldeep conceded a lot of runs in the tournament and his woeful form was a cause of worry for both him and the Indian selectors as the Men in Blue, in May, were supposed to travel for the World Cup 2019. Talking about the same, Kuldeep revealed that he worked really hard to overcome his failure in IPL.

The 25-year-old said, “I prepared really well before leaving for the World Cup 2019 because I wanted to overcome my failure in IPL that year. Even though I didn’t pick up many wickets, I think I bowled well at the World Cup,”

“After that I have been in and out of the team. If you are playing regularly, your confidence is high. If not, you are always under pressure to perform in the chances you get and your mind stays cluttered. I probably was at fault with my skills as well,” he further added.