Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 2 (ANI): Vijay Yadav, the ambidextrous spinner representing Kashi Rudras in the ongoing UPT20 League, spoke on the importance of the competition as a platform for the state's cricketers and expressed his admiration for star Indian batter Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The Qualifier 1 between Kashi Rudras and Meerut Mavericks is set for September 3. With 12 wickets in 10 matches, Vijay, whose ambidextrous nature as a spinner was a gradual development born out of the need for invention in the era of high-scoring matches, is amongst the brightest stars of the competition.
Speaking on the UPT20 League to ANI, he said, "UPT20 League is a very big platform for all the players. UPCA has organised this tournament so well. This is our 4th season, and many players have played in our IPL from the UPT20 League in the last 3 years. So it is a very big platform for everyone who has talent to come and express. Scouts also come from the IPL, so you get very good chances. If you do well, you will go to a higher level. UPT20 has helped me the most, given me the fame I have."
On his cricketing idols, he enjoys Virat's aggression and dedication and the variations and vast contribution of Ashwin to Indian cricket, especially in red-ball cricket.
"My main idol is Virat Kohli. I mean, his dedication, aggression, the way he plays on the field, whether it is batting or fielding, it feels good to watch. And you get to learn a lot from him," he said.
Speaking on Ashwin, Vijay said that he enjoys watching his right-arm spin bowling, something which Vijay himself did while starting off before deciding to be ambidextrous.
"I really like Ashwin's bowling, because he is a right-arm-off spinner and he bowls with so much control, even against right-hand batsmen. So it feels good to watch him. I get a lot of inspiration from seeing that a right-arm off-spinner can do a lot of things," he said.
"His variations, carrom ball; one season he bowled leg-breaks in the IPL. So I get a lot of inspiration by watching him. I mean, Ashwin has made such a big contribution to Team India," he added.
Speaking on his skillset as an ambidextrous spinner, Vijay said that he started as a right-arm spinner, but seeing them get dominated by right-handers made him take up the art of being ambidextrous, as he realised he could bowl with his left-hand as well and worked on it with encouragement from coaches as well.
"I started as a right-arm off-spinner. In cricket, there are a lot of right-hand batsmen. So they are very dominant against the right-arm off-spinner. So we get hit a lot by them. So from the beginning, my left hand used to work a little. So when I started working on it, I thought, let us try again, to see what happens. So when I tried it at the start, I got a good response. I thought, if I work a little harder, it will be a little better. Then I got a lot of support from the coaches. Then I worked harder on it, practised more, and slowly I got a lot of command," he recalled.
On his team's skipper Karan Sharma, who is the leading run-getter with 355 runs in 10 matches, including a century and three fifties, Vijay described him as someone who supports his bowlers well and often talks and plans with them.
"Karan Bhai is very good. Especially, he talks a lot with the bowler. All the captains, I mean, they trust the bowler more. Karan Bhai talks to me a lot in between, how to plan, how to take the field. So he is very supportive. He talks to the bowler a lot. I feel very confident that our captain is very supportive," he said.
Speaking on his favourite IPL teams and the team he would like to play for, Vijay said he would like to play for any team, but his favourites are Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
"If I get a chance to play in IPL, I will play with any team. That is my wish. But if you ask me my favourite teams, then MI and RCB are my favourite teams. There are a lot of other stars (in MI) like Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Sur Kumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah. They play cricket very fearlessly, so I like watching them," he signed off. (ANI)
Kashi Rudras ambidextrous spinner Vijay Yadav speaks on UPT20 League, expresses admiration for Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin
