'You can't become a good spinner if you don't get over the fear of getting hit'
Kuldeep Yadav talks about his craft, the disappointment of Lord's 2018, and taking tips from Shane Warne
That it's very difficult to switch from white-ball cricket to red-ball cricket. If you keep playing red-ball cricket, it's easy to adjust as a spinner, but I'm regularly playing with the white ball, so when I got the chance [at Lord's], I wasn't prepared enough to tackle everything. For me, red-ball cricket is the biggest challenge. Everyone loves Test cricket and I'm no different.
I had time to go back to Kanpur and work with my coach. The Rovers Club, where I have practised since childhood, gives me positive vibes. It is where I am myself, with a lot of freedom to just do my thing quietly without having so many cameras trying to pick what you are trying. It took me seven days to actually get over my Lord's performance and bounce back. I was in England for one more game after the Lord's Test. The team management sent me home as they felt I would get game time before the West Indies series by playing against Australia A. I made plans, which I executed in the unofficial Tests against Australia A. In the first game I went okay, I was bowling too full, but in the second game, I got a five-for. That settled me down.
I didn't bowl well. That's the hard truth. I didn't think of wickets or conditions. It was just that I didn't bowl well.
It gave me time to discuss with my coach. He pointed out what I did right, and asked me to focus on accuracy rather than trying too many things.
I first started bowling with the SG red ball, because we were playing at home against Australia A. Then I realised maybe I should bowl with the Kookaburra as well, because I thought if I perform well against West Indies, I could get a chance in Australia. I bowled for two days, 16-17 overs, with it. I found it easy to handle - you get good grip.
I think a lot at the ground, even when I'm not playing. Of course I watch some videos to understand a batsman's strengths and weaknesses. But I don't think, "If I bowl here, he will hit me there." I don't believe in too much video analysis because my skill sets are different. If I bowl, I see if I have executed well. I don't think I should stress about it too much at this stage. I think about how I should get better, how to pick up wickets. Yes, I don't watch videos, but it doesn't mean I don't think much about my bowling.
I've followed him from childhood. My coach wanted me to watch his videos. When I met him during the Pune Test [2017] for the first time, I discussed many aspects of bowling. When we were in Australia this time, Ravi Shastri got me to chat with him. From that day, he was often by my side to help me and guide me through aspects I need to focus on bowling in Australia.
We met every morning of the Test matches. Before the Tests, I was bowling well, so I told him I'm in good rhythm, getting turn and getting everything I wanted to get out of my bowling. He looked at my action and spoke to me about handling different situations, how to bowl when you're under pressure. The kind of body language you should have. He told me: when you're under pressure, remain calm and give a big smile.
He looked at one replay on commentary and suggested minor changes with my bowling arm. He pointed to my knees bending at the time of release, and body alignment. He felt if it is straight, I'd be able to use my core better and be able to flight the ball more.
It felt like I was making my debut. I didn't want to make the mistakes I made at Lord's. I planned. Like, Usman Khawaja is a good player through the off side, so I planned to bowl a few wrong'uns to him.
If you're playing with the white ball regularly, it becomes easy to adjust. I'm more settled in white-ball cricket, I never feel any pressure. For any spinner, in ODIs, there's a limited quota, so you need to attack in that way. You need to challenge yourself every time to perform for the team.
I haven't bowled much to him! I don't bowl much in the nets [during the IPL] so that I don't give away too many clues. At the Indian nets, I do, but otherwise I prefer sticking to my drills and doing single-wicket bowling. I hardly bowl five overs and then move over to nets and just bowl at the stumps. Once I feel comfortable, I follow my drills.
When you play together regularly, you learn from your partner. So I've learnt a lot from him. Whenever we play together, we try and improve together. Also in general, since my younger days, my coach made me bowl from the centre wicket, and challenged the batsmen to hit sixes, so the fear disappeared right from early stages of my career. You can't become a good spinner if you don't overcome that fear and just think wickets. That's what Chahal and I have done. The middle overs are important in ODIs - if you don't attack, teams will get 320, so the focus is on picking up wickets in the middle overs.
I haven't thought about that (laughs). I'm the kind of person who underestimates himself. I feel I'm never ready. I never feel I'm 100%. The only thought process is: I should keep getting better. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn't.
I stay at home, go to my ground, because the vibes I get there are different. Youngsters come, those who I've spent time with in the age-group days come. My coach is always around, so I hang out with them. Otherwise, I'm at home with family. I'm fond of movies, I love soccer. I follow Neymar. I can't play [football] well, but to see and watch, I'm a big fan.
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo