Former Indian batter and analyst Mohammad Kaif has showered praise on the young Indian pacer Prince Yadav, who performed well in the second T20I against New Zealand, replacing Mayank Yadav in the playing XI.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif hailed Prince for utilising his variations at the perfect time to trouble the opposition batters. Notably, Prince scalped a wicket, conceding 30 runs in his four-over spell, while Shreyas Iyer dropped a catch off the seamer’s bowling.
“India bowled very well in the 2nd T20I. After a long time, we saw a game where they restricted the opposition to 180. Otherwise, 200 was the norm. I think there is a good balance in this combination. Prince Yadav bowled really well. His thinking was good, bringing in yorkers. I am very impressed with him. He has the pace, he has the slower ones too, the yorkers are there. It is very early, but he has done really well compared to others so far. A game plan is seen in his bowling,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Speaking about his T20I bowling stats, in nine T20I innings so far, Prince has scalped 11 wickets at an average of 24.72 and an economy rate of 8.41, with best figures of 3/22 on his debut against Ireland.
Further, Kaif rated Prince ahead of other current Indian pacers in terms of bowling under pressure and delivering the goods for his side. He added that despite not being a constant starter in the XI, Prince has shown composure, turning out to be India’s X-factor.
“I want to praise his wicket-taking ability. Out of everyone, I will keep him ahead in terms of bowling under pressure and delivering. He has been playing in the IPL for 2-3 years and carrying his role. You will get hit, but can you pick up wickets? That makes all the difference. Prince has also been dropped and is not getting consistent chances. But despite that, he is showing composure and has that X-factor,” the former RCB batter expressed.
