World Cup 2019: Kuldeep and Chahal are "pillars" of our bowling attack, says Kohli

Skipper Kohli backed Kuldeep Yadav saying that he was glad that Yadav ran into a bad patch during the IPL so that he could reflect on his shortcomings and come back much stronger for the World Cup

When asked to have his say on Kuldeep Yadav’s dismal form in the IPL, skipper Virat Kohli backed the young wrist-spinner saying that he was glad that Kulddep ran into a bad patch during the IPL so that he could reflect on his shortcomings and come back much stronger for the World Cup. Kohli also said the chinaman bowler and Yuzvendra Chahal are "pillars" of India's bowling attack, going into the World Cup. "In hindsight, if you look at it, someone like Kuldeep who has had so much success, it is important to see a period where things don't go your way. We are glad that it happened in the IPL rather than during the World Cup," Kohli said, firmly backing the spinner. "So he had time to reflect and correct things and come into World Cup even stronger. We know the kind of skill set he possesses alongside (Yuzvendra) Chahal. They are two pillars of our bowling line up," Kohli said at the World Cup pre-departure press conference here. Kuldeep Yadav was dropped from the Kolkata Knight Riders team during IPL because of poor form but Kohli felt it was a good reality check for the 24-year-old. The Indian skipper did not seem worried about all-rounder Kedar Jadhav, who too missed the latter half of IPL after hurting his shoulder. "Kedar also, we understand the kind of pitches they got playing at home. We are not worried about him. He was looking in good space. Yes he did not get runs but Twenty20 is such a format in which you don't get runs and it can go on like that for a few games."