Important to hold onto attacking mindset: Kuldeep

Stripped to its basics, wrist-spin bowling is about deceiving batters with turn, flight and guile. It is a difficult art to execute at the best of times, not least in the T20 format where conditions are eminently favourable to the ones wielding the willow.

Despite the challenges, Kuldeep Yadav has enhanced his reputation in recent years as a left-arm wrist-spinner of high skill. And the 31-year-old, who has been part of two T20 World Cup-winning Indian squads, intends to continue being a wicket-taking weapon in the shortest version.

“It’s very important for spinners to hold on to their strengths. Whenever batters put you under pressure, you tend to forget your strength. You look for a safer option to get out of that situation. If you are an attacking spinner, don’t let that go. Because that is your identity and if you are doing that work for the team, taking wickets, there can be nothing better than that. Your mindset should be attacking,” Kuldeep told reporters on Friday (April 3, 2026).

Pressed on whether the pitches in T20s should test the skill-set of the batters as well, he said: “There’s Test cricket for that, isn’t it? It depends on how your bowling is. There are home-and-away conditions. If you play in Delhi, you will get flat tracks. If you play in Lucknow, there’s a slightly bigger ground, so there’s a bit for the bowlers. If you play in Chennai, it’s a bit for the bowlers. In cricket, if everything goes according to you, then you can’t become a player.”