Courtesy: BCCI
Kuldeep Yadav, the Indian left-arm unorthodox spinner, who has won the T20 World Cup, was born on December 14, 1994, in the city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The 30-year-old is a “Chinaman” bowler, possessing a rare ability to bowl leg spin with left-arm at the international level, allowing him to bamboozle some of the top batters in the world. His debut for India happened in the toughest of circumstances in Test cricket, during the BGT 2017 decider at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamshala, and he picked up four crucial wickets, to help the team win the match and the series 2-1.
While the Test career of Kuldeep Yadav has been a stop-start one in the last eight years, making just 13 appearances for his 56 wickets in Indian colours at an average of 22.16, he has become one of the best spin bowlers in the world in limited overs cricket (LOI). After making his ODI and T20I debuts within a span of a few days against West Indies in the Caribbean in the summer of 2017, Kuldeep Yadav has been an integral part of the Indian spin bowling department since then, mostly alongside Yuzvendra Chahal. He has played 106 ODI matches, taking 172 wickets at an average of 26 and an economy under five, with best figures of 6/25 versus England.
Kuldeep Yadav is joint-fifth fastest to 50 ODI wickets
The Kanpur-born cricketer is the joint-fifth fastest to 50 wickets in ODI cricket in just 24 matches, only behind Ajantha Mendis, Sandeep Lamichhane, Ajit Agarkar, and Mitchell McClenaghan. Meanwhile, in the T20I format, he has been just as effective with the ball, picking up 69 wickets in 40 matches at an economy of 6.77, with best figures of 5/17 versus South Africa. Kuldeep Yadav has a strike-rate of just 12.70, which is the seventh best in T20I cricket, while he is also the seventh fastest to 50 wickets in the format.
The crowning achievement of Kuldeep Yadav’s international career happened earlier this year when he played a key role in India’s first T20 World Cup win in nearly 17 years. He took 10 wickets in five matches of the tournament in the USA and the Caribbean despite a tough night in the final against South Africa. The IPL career of Kuldeep Yadav has been quite a topsy-turvy one with great highs and difficult lows during his time with Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals.
As of this writing, Kuldeep Yadav is recovering from a left groin injury, for which he underwent surgery in Germany recently, and a date for his return to the national team isn’t confirmed yet.
