Kuldeep Yadav Biography, Profile, Age, Country, Cricket Stats, Wife, Height, Salary, IPL, Wiki, and more

Kuldeep Yadav is an Indian cricketer who plays for the team India. Kuldeep Yadav was born on Dec 14, 1994; and as of 2024, he is 30 years old. Kuldeep Yadav is a bowler from Kanpur and bowls unorthodox. In his Test career to date, Kuldeep Yadav has played 12 matches to date in his Test career and he took 53 wickets, with an average of 21.06, conceding nearly 3.41 runs per over with a best individual figure of 5 for 40.

In Kuldeep Yadav’s Odi career, has played 103 matches to date in his ODI career and he took 168 wickets, with an average of 26.01, conceding nearly 5.05 runs per over with a best individual figure of 6 for 25. Kuldeep Yadav has played 35 matches to date in his T20 career and he took 59 wickets, with an average of 14.10, conceding nearly 6.75 runs per over with a best individual figure of 5 for 17.

Kuldeep Yadav is currently ranked 16th in the ICC Test bowling rankings with a total of 686 points. He holds the 8th position in the ICC ODI bowling rankings with a total of 645 points. Kuldeep Yadav is ranked 24th position in the ICC T20 bowling rankings with a total of 578 points.

He made his IPL debut in 2016. Kuldeep Yadav has played 74 matches to date in his IPL career and he took 73 wickets, with an average of 27.89, conceding nearly 8.08 runs per over with a best individual figure of 4/14.

In the IPL Auction 2024, the Delhi franchise acquired the services of Kuldeep Yadav for Rs 2.00 Cr. In Mar 2024, he played his last IPL match against Punjab at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, India, and had bowling figures of 20/2.

Kuldeep Yadav Biography

Kuldeep Yadav Physical Statistics

Kuldeep Yadav Profile

– Kuldeep Yadav is the most successful left-arm wrist spinner in the IPL.

– He was first introduced by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2016 in a continuation of their faith in left-arm wrist spin, first starting alongside Brad Hogg and then replacing the veteran Australian.

– His form fell away in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and he missed IPL 2021 due to a knee injury before being let go by KKR.

– In 2022, after six seasons with KKR, he was picked by Delhi Capitals (DC). The move seemed to work for him, 2022 being his most prolific IPL season: he took 21 wickets at a strike rate of 14.19, finishing in the tournament’s top-five wicket-takers.

Kuldeep Yadav started as a fast bowler when he first joined a cricket academy in Kanpur but was asked by his coach Kapil Pandey to switch to something much rarer – left-arm wrist spin. The change wasn’t smooth – Kuldeep admitted that he had even tried once – but he soon realised bowling left-arm wrist spin was the way forward for him. And he was good at it too, having not only solid control over the length but also a potent wrong’un among his variations.

There haven’t been too many bowlers of his ilk in India, and Kuldeep, therefore, attracted immediate attention after successful stints at the Under-19 level.

Kuldeep played his first India U-19 game in April 2012 as a 17-year-old and despite consistently taking wickets, he stayed below the radar. It was the 2014 edition of the U-19 World Cup in Dubai that pushed his stocks higher. After a wicketless spell in the opening game against Pakistan, Kuldeep picked up a hat-trick in the next game against Scotland. “As Kuldeep, mere ko wicket nikaalna hai (As Kuldeep, I knew I had to take wickets),” he said after the match.

He gained in stature in the games that followed, repeatedly troubling batsmen with his turn and finished with 14 wickets, the joint second-highest in the tournament. The performance seemed to justify why Kolkata Knight Riders’ scouts had forked out $66,000 for him in the IPL auction before the Under-19 World Cup.

Kuldeep had been part of the Mumbai Indians set-up in the 2012 season where he had a fond memory of bamboozling Sachin Tendulkar once in the nets with his wrong’un. That did not translate into an IPL debut. Nor did it happen with Knight Riders in the 2014 season. He had to wait until the Champions League where, playing as a support bowler to Sunil Narine, he impressed with his economy. Following those performances, he was included in India’s ODI squad for the series against West Indies in October 2014, and he made his first-class and List-A debuts shortly after.

Having established himself in the Uttar Pradesh and India A sides, Kuldeep made his Test debut against Australia in a deciding match in Dharamsala in March 2017 and claimed 4 for 68 in the first innings.

IPL through the years

Yadav was handed an Indian Premier League contract in 2012 by the 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 transferred to the Kolkata Knight Riders two years later but still failed to play a game.

In IPL 2016, Kuldeep was given his due by the KKR franchise and he didn’t disappoint. The slow-left-arm bowler picked up 6 wickets from 3 games. But the presence of Brad Hogg limited his chances. Having been retained for 40 lakhs ahead of the 2017 IPL, KKR decided to invest more in their potent weapon. And Kuldeep shone as well, picking up 12 wickets from 12 games.

The year 2018 saw him making rapid strides at the international level and IPL also saw him creating ripples. He got his first Man of the Match award in an IPL game in the same edition as well. Against RR, Kuldeep bowled a bamboozling spell of 4 for 20 to script a fine win for KKR.

His dip in performance at the international level, however, was expounded at the IPL. He saw poor returns in the 2019 season after he picked up only 4 wickets from 9 games at an economy rate of 8.66 and his performance in 2020 was by far his worst. Failing to make an impact, Kuldeep found himself dropped from KKR’s playing XI after picking up just 1 wicket from 4 games.

He was benched in the first half of the 2021 season and was ruled out of the rest due to a knee injury. He made a roaring return to form, however, when he was picked up by the Delhi Capitals in 2022. It was his performance at this IPL, 21 wickets from just 14 games, that put him back on the map after spending a couple of years in relative oblivion. He was retained by the Capitals for the 2023 edition of the tournament.

Kuldeep Yadav Career Stats

Bowling

Batting & Fielding

Kuldeep Yadav IPL Auction Price History

Kuldeep Yadav’s Social Media Accounts

Some Lesser-Known Facts About Kuldeep Yadav

• Kuldeep Yadav is an Indian cricketer who is a left-arm wrist spin bowler. Kuldeep is the first Indian bowler to take two hat-tricks in international cricket.
• While growing up in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where his father owned a brick kiln, Kuldeep developed an interest in cricket at a very young age.
• His father supported him in following his dream of becoming a cricketer, and Kuldeep joined the cricket academy of his childhood coach Kapil Pandey in Kanpur. According to Kapil Pandey, Kuldeep initially aspired to become a fast bowler like Zaheer Khan and Wasim Akram; however, after seeing Kuldeep’s spin skills, his coach suggested he become a chinaman, which is considered a rare variety of spin bowling. In an interview, Kuldeep’s coach recalled this and said,
  I asked him to switch to chinaman, a much rarer variety of bowling. The change was not easy but he soon realised that bowling spin was the way forward for him.”
• On his coach’s suggestion, Kuldeep started working strongly to become a spin bowler, and he made Shane Warne his idol and started watching Warne’s videos to hone his skills. Kuldeep says,
  I keep watching videos of Warne. His grip on the ball, length of deliveries and use of the crease are unbeatable. I try to learn from the footage.”https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/845618735629172737
• In an interview, Kuldeep revealed that when he was 13 years old, he once thought of committing suicide as he was not selected for Uttar Pradesh’s under-15 team. He said,
  I had worked hard for my selection, but when I was not picked, I mentioned suicide in frustration. It happens to everyone in the heat of the moment.” 
• In 2012, he was bought by the Mumbai Indians at the IPL auctions; however, he was not included in the playing eleven.
• Kuldeep Yadav’s breakthrough performance came in 2014 when he not only took the highest wickets in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup but also became the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in the history of the tournament. 
• In 2014, Kolkata Knight Riders bought him at the IPL auctions; however, he did not play any game in the tournament. In 2016, while playing for the KKR, he took 6 wickets in three games. Kuldeep took 12 wickets in 12 games for the KKR in the 2017 IPL.
• Kuldeep made his Ranji debut for Uttar Pradesh in 2016-17. He impressed the Indian national team selectors by taking 17 wickets in three matches in the 2016 Duleep Trophy.
• On 25 March 2017, in his debut Test against Australia at the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium, Kuldeep took four wickets in the first innings, becoming the third such bowler in Test cricket to take four wickets on debut and the first left-arm wrist spin bowler to play a Test for India. Although he was earlier selected in the Indian squad to play against the West Indies, he was not in the playing XI.
• On his Test debut, Anil Kumble presented him with the coveted Test cap; Kuldeep came as a replacement for an injured Virat Kohli in his debut Test match.
• Kuldeep’s first five-wicket haul in a Test match came against the West Indies on 6 October 2018.  On 6 January 2019, he took his second five-wicket haul in the fourth Test against Australia at the SCG. 
• On his ODI debut against the West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval on 23 June 2017, Kuldeep could not deliver even a single ball because the match was abandoned amid the heavy rain. However, Kuldeep became the joint-highest wicket-taker of the tournament by taking three wickets in the second match of the series.
• On 21 September 2017, Kuldeep Yadav joined the league of cricketers like Chetan Sharma and Kapil Dev when he took a hat-trick against Australia at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. 
• Kuldeep’s first five-wicket haul in a T20I came against England on 3 July 2018, making him the first left-arm wrist-spin bowler to take five wickets in a T20I. He took his second five-wicket haul in a T20I in a match against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium on his 29th birthday in December 2023, becoming the second Indian bowler and first Indian spinner to claim multiple five-wicket hauls in T20Is after Bhuvneshwar Kumar. 
• Kuldeep’s first five-wicket haul in an ODI came against England on 12 July 2018 when he set a record for best bowling figures (6/25) by a left-arm spin bowler in an ODI. 
• On 18 December 2019, Kuldeep took his second ODI hat-trick in a match against the West Indies, becoming the first Indian to take two hat-tricks in ODIs. 
• In the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, Kuldeep took 6 wickets in 7 matches, and he took 7 wickets in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
• In the 2020 IPL, Kuldeep could pick only one wicket in four games following which he was dropped from KKR’s playing XI.
• In 2022, Delhi Capitals bought him at the IPL auctions; Kuldeep took 21 wickets in 14 games. In the 2023 edition of the tournament, Delhi Capitals retained him in their playing squad.
• In the 2023 Asia Cup, Kuldeep Yadav joined the league of Sourav Ganguly, Arshad Ayub, Venkatesh Prasad, and Sachin Tendulkar to get a five-wicket haul against Pakistan, becoming the fifth Indian to do so. 
• In February 2018, his Instagram account was hacked, and a vulgar photo was shared by his official Instagram account. Later, Kuldeep shared an apology note on social media in which he wrote,
  I would like to apologise for the unsolicited post that was posted by my Instagram account in the past few minutes. My Instagram account was hacked by someone, I’ll take steps to improve my password protection. Thanks for understanding.”
• Since childhood, Kuldeep has been a passionate painter, and he often shares his painting works on social media.
• Kuldeep owns two pet dogs, and he often shares his pet dogs’ photos on social media.
• Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are good friends, and the duo is often termed “Kulcha.