Kuldeep: Bowlers need to show more courage against aggressive batting

Although there has been some respite for bowlers of late, with the pitches slowing down and the frequency of 200-plus totals diminishing, the IPL 2024 has been all about big hitting and record team totals. And the impact player rule is one of the reasons why. For Kuldeep Yadav, however, the bowlers have to be brave in the face of such "non-stop hitting" and remember that they "have more chances to take wickets".

Kuldeep said at a press event in Delhi recently:

"Every team is now trying to attack in the powerplay and score as many runs as possible. It slows down a bit in the middle overs because of the open field, so the batters are playing more freely in the powerplay. Those days are gone when teams used to target 45-50 runs in the powerplay. But I think the bowlers must show more courage. If a batter goes for the attack, then a bowler also has more chances of taking wickets.”

Bumrah, of course, has been one of the rare exceptions this season, a bowler who has not only taken wickets - he is the joint highest wicket-taker at this stage with 17 - but has also been hard to score off - his economy rate of 6.25 is the best of any frontline bowler.

Kuldeep himself is lower in both tables, with 12 wickets from eight innings and an economy rate of 8.45, but has been impressive overall. A good example of what he is talking about came in Delhi Capitals' match against Sunrisers Hyderabad - the team that broke and then re-broke the record for the highest IPL total this season - in Delhi on 20 April. Kuldeep conceded 55 runs in SRH's 266 for 7 but came back to take four wickets, those of Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

So far this season, Kuldeep has bowled just one over in the powerplay for 20 runs. He has also bowled just three overs in the death (overs 17-20), giving away 33 runs. It's in the middle order that he's been most used and most effective: 27 overs for 11 wickets, with an economy rate of 7.85.

He is expected to be one of the players that Rohit Sharma and the team management will rely on during the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA in June. And in a team lacking in all-rounders, Kuldeep will be hoping to contribute with the bat as well. It's something he's been working on, and he showed glimpses of it in DC's last game, hitting a 26-ball 35 not out with five fours and a six against Kolkata Knight Riders.