Indian captain Virat Kohli showed his full trust on Kuldeep Yadav, despite the wrist-spinner enduring his worst ever Indian Premier League (IPL) season for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2019. England Final Squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: David Willey Makes Place for Jofra Archer in 15-Men Member Team.

“I am not worried about Kuldeep’s form. he is one of the pillars along with Chahal for our bowling. We are happy that he ran into a bad patch during the IPL. He has had time to reflect upon it,” said Kohli at a press conference before team India’s departure for the ICC 2019 Cricket World Cup in England.

 

The premier Indian left-arm wrist-spinner had an IPL season to forget, taking only four wickets in nine games at an economy 8.66 before he was dropped from KKR’s final five league games. He went wicket-less in five of those games and was smashed for 27 runs in an over by Moeen Ali during Kolkata’s home match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

That game, in which he went for 59 in four overs, was the last game Kuldeep played before his exclusion from the playing XI.

But the Indian skipper backed his lethal spin weapon to deliver in England at the ICC tournament. Dhoni Will Be India's Trump Card in World Cup: Zaheer Abbas.

“Kuldeep is one of the pillars along with Chahal for our bowling and together they will play a massive role for us,” added Kohli.

The Indian skipper also praised his bowlers and asserted that playing white ball cricket in England is not difficult if one is able to handle the pressure.

“Handling pressure is more important than the conditions in England. All our bowlers have been preparing with the 50 over World Cup in mind. Even during the IPL, if you noticed none of our bowlers looked fatigued as they have been in the 50 over the zone.

“The key is to not let the fitness levels come down and that was communicated to everyone before the tournament,” said Kohli sat alongside head coach Ravi Shastri at the final press conference before they head to London.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 21, 2019 05:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).