Kuldeep Yadav: The Unorthodox Spin Bowler
An inspiring left-armed fast bowler with a handsome build for the game joined the cricket academy in Kanpur with huge dreams of becoming the next Zaheer Khan for India. Kuldeep Yadav was born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh who is now an Indian Cricketer who plays for Indian national cricket team, domestic Cricket and for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He started his cricket life as a fast bowler at academy level, but his coach advised him to become a rare left-arm unorthodox spin bowler considering his build and personality. K Yadav took his advice and then played for Indian Under-19 cricket team in the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Kuldeep Yadav’s hat-trick took place when he played the Under-19 Cricket World Cup against Scotland which brought him into the limelight. With his talent and outstanding performance he became the second Indian other than Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the third spinner other than Imran Tahir and Ajantha Mendis to take five wickets hauls in all the three formats.
Kuldeep’s Personal Details
- Born – 14 December 1994
- Birth Place – Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Kuldeep Yadav’s career – Indian Cricketer
- Batting Style – Left-handed
- Bowling Style – Left-arm unorthodox Spin
- Main Role – Bowler
- Kuldeep Yadav’s wickets – 1) ODI -105, 2) T20 - 39, 3) Test - 26
- Kuldeep Yadav age – 26 years
- Kuldeep Yadav height (approx..) – 5’6” Inches
- Kuldeep Yadav weight (approx..) – 61 kg
- School Name – Karam Devi Memorial Academy World School, Kanpur
Kuldeep Yadav’s IPL Career
Kuldeep Yadav entered the Indian Premier League in 2012 by getting picked for Mumbai Indians, but he failed to make the playing XI in his debut season, despite making headlines for beating Sachin Tendulkar with his googly in the nets. He was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders after two years, but still, he failed to play a game. In 2016, Yadav played for KKR and with his slow left-arm bowling style picked up6 wickets from 3 games. In 2017, Kuldeep picked up 12 wickets from 12 games with his amazing bowling style. In 2018, he made his rapid strides at the international level, and IPL also saw him creating ripples. With his excellence and outstanding performance, he got his first Man of the Match award in an IPL game in the same edition. Kuldeep Yadav bowler represented Kolkata Knight Riders, and with his mind-blowing bowling, he bowled a bamboozling spell of 4 for 20 to script a fine win to KKR.
Kuldeep Yadav’s stats
Batting Career Summary
| M | Inn | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100 | 200 | 50 | 4s | 6s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 6 | 6 | 0 | 51 | 26 | 8.5 | 161 | 31.68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| ODI | 60 | 21 | 12 | 118 | 19 | 13.11 | 188 | 62.77 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| T20I | 20 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 16 | 20.0 | 20 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| IPL | 43 | 10 | 5 | 45 | 16 | 9.0 | 56 | 80.36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Bowling Career Summary
| M | Inn | B | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Econ | Avg | SR | 5W | 10W | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 6 | 10 | 989 | 579 | 24 | 5/57 | 6/119 | 3.51 | 24.12 | 41.21 | 2 | 0 |
| ODI | 60 | 58 | 3192 | 2721 | 104 | 6/25 | 6/25 | 5.11 | 26.16 | 30.69 | 1 | 0 |
| T20I | 20 | 20 | 453 | 537 | 39 | 5/24 | 5/24 | 7.11 | 13.77 | 11.62 | 1 | 0 |
| IPL | 43 | 42 | 878 | 1218 | 40 | 4/20 | 4/20 | 8.32 | 30.45 | 21.95 | 0 | 0 |
Kuldeep Yadav cricketer Domestic Career
Kuldeep Yadav was born and brought up in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and he's the son of a brick kiln owner. He disclosed that it was his father who wanted him to continue playing cricket and even took him to a coach (Kapil Pandey) in an interview. Motivated by the bowling greats Wasim Akram and Zaheer Khan, Kuldeep wanted to become a left-arm seamer. Although, given his tiny build, his coach hold on to him becoming a wrist-spin bowler as he was very much impressed with the turn and variations he was providing unknowingly at the trials. Then, Kuldeep started following and watching videos of Shane Warne's bowling which made him his role model. In an interview with Kuldeep Yadav, he confessed that he keeps watching videos of Warne and his grip on the ball, length of delivery of the ball and use of the crease are unbeatable. Also, he tries to learn from the footage.
He even disclosed that earlier in his life, there was a dark phase when he thought of giving up cricket and committed suicide when he didn't get selected in the Uttar Pradesh's U/15 Cricket team. In 2012, he was one of a member of the Mumbai Indians(MI) team and later in 2014, got signed up by the Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) whom he represented at the 2014 Champions League Twenty20. Kuldeep didn't play any further matches in the 2019 edition of IPL, after the encounter between RCB and KKR at Eden Gardens.
International Career: Kuldeep Yadav’s hat-trick's
Kuldeep Yadav became the 3rd bowler for India to take a hat-trick in a One Day International(ODI) after Chetan Sharma and Kapil Dev on 21st September 2017. And on 21st September 2017 the same day, he took a hat-trick at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, against Australia. Kuldeep even got selected in the Indian Cricket Team to play against West Indies in October 2014 but didn't show up in any match. He was added to India's Test team for their one-off match against Bangladesh in February 2017. And then on 25th March 2017, he made his Test match debut for India against Australian team at the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium, securing four wickets in the 1st innings. Kuldeep is the first left-arm wrist spin bowler to represent India national cricket team in Test cricket. He is even only the 3rd such bowler in Test cricket to secure four wickets on debut. He was named in India's squad for a limited-overs tour to the West Indies in June 2017. And on 23rd June 2017, he made his One Day International (ODI) debut for India against the West Indies(WI).
Later on, he moved to 2nd position in the T20I Bowlers Rankings on 11th February 2019. And in April 2019, he was named in India's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. In the match against England team, Kuldeep Yadav played in his 50th ODI on 30th June 2019. And then on 18th December 2019, against West Indies became the very first bowler for India to take two hat-tricks in One Day Internationals(ODIs).