Kuldeep Yadav (born 14 December 1994) is an Indian international

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er. He is a bowling all-rounder who bowls Left-arm Unorthodox spin bowler is and a capable Lower order batter who plays for

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and for

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

in domestic cricket. He was signed by the Delhi Capitals for the Indian premiere league. He has played for the Indian Under-19 cricket team and played in the 2014 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. On 18 December 2019, against the West Indies, he became the first bowler for India to take two hat-tricks in international cricket. On 17 January 2020, in the second ODI against Australia, Yadav became the fastest spin bowler for India, in terms of innings, to take 100 wickets in ODI cricket, in his 58th innings.

Early and domestic career

Yadav was born and raised in

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help· info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations ...

, the son of a brick kiln owner. In an interview, he revealed that it was his father who wanted him to continue playing cricket and even took him to a coach (Kapil Pandey). Inspired by bowling greats Wasim Akram and Zaheer Khan, he wanted to become a left-arm seamer. However, given his slight build, his coach insisted on him becoming a wrist-spin bowler as he was impressed with the turn and variations he was providing unknowingly at the trials. Since then, he started following and watching videos of Shane Warne's bowling and made him his role model. Yadav also revealed that earlier in his life, there was a dark phase in his life when he thought of giving up cricket and committing suicide, when he was not selected in the

’s under-15 team. Yadav was a member of the Mumbai Indians squad in 2012 and signed up by the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, whom he represented at the

2014 Champions League Twenty20 Mumbai Indians were the defending champions but failed to qualify. The final was played on 4 October 2014, the Chennai Super Kings won their 2nd CLT20 title after defeating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final by 8 wickets chasing a total of 181. Sur ...

. In January 2018, Yadav was bought back by

KKR KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strateg ...

in the 2018 IPL auction. In February 2022, he was bought by the Delhi Capitals in the

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition e ...

for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament.

International career

Yadav was selected in the

Indian cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a Full Member of the International ...

to play against

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

in October 2014 but did not appear in any match. In February 2017, he was added to India's

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

squad for their one-off match against Bangladesh. He made his Test debut for India against Australia on 25 March 2017, at the

Dharamshala Cricket Stadium Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, abbreviated as the HPCA Stadium, is a picturesque cricket stadium located in the city of Dharamshala in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. The town of Dharamsala is best known interna ...

, taking four wickets in the first innings. Yadav is the first left-arm wrist spin bowler to represent

India national cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a Full Member of the International ...

in Test cricket. He is also only the third such bowler in

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

to take four wickets on debut. In June 2017, Yadav was named in India's squad for a limited overs tour to the

. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut for

against the

on 23 June 2017. However, during this game, he was unable to bowl a single delivery as the game ended with no result due to rain during the first innings while India was batting. He was ultimately able to bowl in the next match of the series, where he took three wickets. He made his

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are th ...

(T20I) debut for India against the West Indies on 9 July 2017. On 21 September 2017, Yadav became the third bowler for India to take a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...

in an

ODI ODI may refer to: * Object Design, Incorporated, a defunct database software company * One Day International, cricket match * Open Data Institute, a UK not-for-profit company promoting open data * Open Data-Link Interface, an implementation of ...

after Chetan Sharma and Kapil Dev. He took the

Eden Gardens The Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata, India. Established in 1864, it is the oldest and second-largest cricket stadium in India and third-largest in the world. The stadium currently has a capacity of 66,000. Eden Gardens is often re ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, against Australia. On 3 July 2018, Yadav took his first five-for in a T20I and also became the first left-arm wrist-spin bowler to take five wickets in a T20I during the first T20I against England, in fact he also became only the third Indian after

Yuzvendra Chahal Yuzvendra Chahal (born 23 July 1990) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team in white ball cricket as a leg spin bowler. He plays for Haryana in domestic cricket and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier L ...

and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to take a five-wicket haul in a T20I. On 12 July 2018, during the first ODI against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, Yadav grabbed his maiden five-wicket haul in an

and also set a new record for registering the best bowling figures by a left-arm spin bowler of any kind in an ODI (6/25). He also shattered the record of Shahid Afridi for registering the best bowling figures by a spinner against England in ODIs and also broke Afridi's record for recording the best ever bowling figures by a spinner in an ODI in England. On 6 October 2018, in the first test against West Indies, Yadav took his first five-wicket haul in

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

. After an impressive outing against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, in the T20I series of India tour of Australia 2018/19, Kuldeep jumped 20 places to claim a career-best third position in the MRF ICC T20I Bowlers Rankings, updated on 26 November 2018. On 6 January 2019, in the fourth Test against Australia at the SCG and in Yadav's first Test match on Australian soil, he took his second five-wicket haul (5/99) in Tests, in Australia's first innings. On 11 February 2019, Yadav moved to second position in the T20I Bowlers Rankings. In April 2019, he was named in India's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 30 June 2019, in the match against

, Kuldeep played in his 50th ODI. On 18 December 2019, against

he became the first bowler for India to take two hat-tricks in ODIs.

References

External links

*
Kuldeep Yadav
s profile page on Wisden {{DEFAULTSORT:Yadav, Kuldeep 1994 births Living people Indian cricketers India Test cricketers India One Day International cricketers India Twenty20 International cricketers Uttar Pradesh cricketers Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers India Red cricketers One Day International hat-trick takers Cricketers at the 2019 Cricket World Cup Delhi Capitals cricketers