Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav have been doing the heavylifting for their Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals (DC) in the ongoing season. While Kuldeep has been among the wickets (10 scalps in five games at an economy of 7.70), Axar has been playing the containing role to perfection and is bowling at a very impressive economy of under 7.
In a season where 200+ scores have become the norm, the experienced spinners have managed to control proceedings in the middle. For Axar, it’s the mindset which holds the key.
“See, it’s all about the mindset. If I go in there with a mindset that I will be hit for runs, then I will give away runs for sure. When the opposition is scoring at a brisk pace, my only focus is on my bowling, what are my strengths and around what areas do I need to bowl,” said Axar during a select media interaction.
The left-arm spinner adds that going in with an “attacking” mindset and right attitude has been crucial to his success in IPL 2024 so far.
“I just stay positive and go in with an attacking mindset. The batters should have an impression that I’m not under any kind of pressure when I come into the attack. A player’s attitude and body language matters a lot. Moreover, I just try to execute whatever my plan is,” he added.
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‘Teams looking to take advantage in powerplay’
The fixture between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad saw plenty of powerplay records being smashed. SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma posted 125/0 in the first 6 overs and ended up stitching a stand of 131 in just 6.2 overs.
The Sunrisers finished with 266/7 in 20 overs and it was the third instance when the Pat Cummins-led unit breached the 250-run mark. While all teams have enjoyed the Impact Player, which has added batting depth more often than not, they have also opted for an ultra-aggressive approach in the powerplay overs.
DC spinner Kuldeep Yadav is of the opinion that the teams have been trying to bat freely in the powerplay and bowlers need to be very brave in that period.
“I think the teams are looking to attack in the Powerplay overs because the game gets a bit slow during the middle overs. So, the sides are trying to take maximum advantage in the first six overs. I just feel the bowlers should be more brave because the T20 format has evolved in such a way. This wasn’t the case earlier. The sides used to target 40-50 in the Powerplay overs but that’s not the case now,” he said.
While the spinner lauds the way the batters have been operating in the powerplay, the left-hander adds that the onus lies on the bowlers as well to back their strengths.
“Secondly, what I think is that the bowlers are bowling according to what the batters are going to do and not really sticking to their strengths. I believe that the bowlers should understand their strengths and back themselves because that’s very important,” added Kuldeep.
Even when bowlers across teams have continued to struggle, Kuldeep was all praise for his India teammate Jasprit Bumrah. The chinaman lauded Mumbai Indians’ pace spearhead for continuously backing his strengths.
“I have just seen 2-3 bowlers who are backing themselves and their abilities. One such bowler is Jasprit Bumrah. The way he is bowling shows that he is backing his strengths and that keeps the batters on the backfoot against him. He is certainly ahead of the batters,” Yadav pointed.
‘Getting hit on good deliveries is fine’
Kuldeep was hit for 55 runs in 4 overs during the match against the Sunrisers but also ended up picking four wickets. He was taken on by the batters on that particular day but the left-arm spinner persisted with his plans of bowling in good length areas that eventually fetched him three out of the four scalps.
“Talking about the IPL. The game has become different and the bowler needs to be a step ahead of the batters. Koi achi ball pe runs maare to aap plan pe stick karte ho. I was hit on some good deliveries (during the game against SRH). Abhishek (Sharma) batted really well,” said Kuldeep.
Both Axar and Kuldeep have been the backbone of Delhi Capitals bowling this season and Rishabh Pant would hope they continue to be brave in their second game, vs Gujarat Titans, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.
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