My motto is to bowl dot balls: Poonam Yadav

India leg-spinner Poonam Yadav revealed how she overcame challenges to become one of the best bowlers in limited-overs cricket. Having constantly been berated while she was making her way through the domestic circuit, against the odds, the 28-year-old finds herself as the country's most successful T20I bowler.



“Whatever people told me I couldn’t do; I took it as a challenge. People said I couldn’t be a limited-overs bowler,” Yadav said during a Facebook live session with Indian Express on Saturday (June 20).



“My motto is to bowl dot balls, that is what I keep working on. I train for foreign tours by bowling to Under-19 boys and girls. I tell them to try and hit every ball I bowl,” she said while talking about her training methods.



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The diminutive leg-spinner has so far claimed 95 T20I wickets - the most for India - and was one of the exceptional performers through the T20 World Cup held in March 2020. Having been ruled out of the T20 Challenger Trophy in January and the T20I tri-series in Australia that followed, Yadav marked her return with a magical spell in the opening encounter against Australia. Quite fittingly, she ended the tournament as India’s highest wicket taker accounting for 10 wickets at an average of 11.90.







“I had just made a comeback from injury before the World Cup. I was in some dread as to if I would be able to perform on such a big stage. But seeing the faith shown in me by the captain, the selectors and the support staff, I thought I would have to work my socks off,” she said.



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When asked about what effect ICC's new guidelines will have on the women's game - especially with regard to the 'no saliva' rule - Yadav admitted that it would be hard for players to suddenly get rid of the habit. But she believes bowlers will find a way to adapt and raise their skill sets in order to stay relevant.



Yadav, who has played 114 international matches for India across formats, also spoke in favour of a full-fledged Women’s IPL. “Women’s IPL will be a good platform for young girls to show their talent and for India to test their bench strength. Shafali Verma showed her talent when we played T20 Challenge in Jaipur last year and more young players like her will get opportunity to show their talent once the tournament is expanded to four teams,” she added.