Kuldeep Yadav

Born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Kuldeep started as a fast bowler at the academy level. But after a considerable period of time, Kuldeep and his coach, Kapil Pandey, realised that his talents did not align with the task. Seeing his build, the coach advised him to take a major and uncommon turn- to become a slow left-arm unorthodox or chinaman bowling style.

Kuldeep played in the 2015 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where a hat-trick brought him into the limelight. Kuldeep never looked back after that and has continued to impress on the international stage in all forms of cricket.

Kuldeep Yadav: Along the Years 

Kuldeep Yadav Records 

• He is only the second Indian, other than Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to take five-wicket hauls in all three formats. 

• He is the first left-arm wrist spin bowler to represent India in Test cricket. 

• His spell of 10-0-25-6 against the England cricket team is the best figures by any left-arm spinner in ODIs.

• In 2014, he became the first bowler from India to record a hat-trick in the U-19 World Cup.

• Kuldeep is the first Indian bowler to record two hat-tricks in ODIs.

• In Test cricket, he is the third bowler to grab four wickets on his debut.

• He is also the third bowler for India to take a hat-trick in an ODI after Chetan Sharma and Kapil Dev.

• After Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the third Indian to take five five-wicket hauls in a T20 International.

• Fastest Indian spin bowler to take 100 wickets in ODI

Kuldeep Yadav Awards and Accolades 

Kuldeep Yadav Career 

After making his debut for India in 2017, Kuldeep Yadav has been a reliable performer in all formats of the game. His match-winning performances in India's 4-1 Test series victory over England recently had a significant impact. In 2017, he made his international debut in a Test against Australia in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. As of 16 September 2025, Kuldeep has played 13 Tests, 113 ODIs, and 44 T20 Internationals, taking 56, 181, and 83 wickets, respectively. Kuldeep played for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025 season.

Kuldeep Yadav Domestic Career 

In his early years, he was inspired by Zaheer Khan and Wasim Akram and wanted to become a fast bowler. However, on the advice of his coach, he became a wrist-spin bowler. Kuldeep was unable to make it into Uttar Pradesh’s under-15 team but eventually made it into the state team in 2014.

Kuldeep Yadav IPL Career 

Kuldeep was a part of the Mumbai Indians in the 2012 IPL season. In 2014, he was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders. In 2018, he was bought back by the KKR for a sum of INR 5.8 crores.

In the IPL, Kuldeep Yadav is the most successful left-arm chinaman bowler. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) first brought him in 2016. He first started beside Brad Hogg before taking the veteran Australian's place.

Before being released by KKR, he suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the IPL in 2021 and saw his overall performance decline throughout 2019 and 2020. Following six seasons with KKR, he was picked by the Delhi Capitals in 2022. His most successful IPL season to date was in 2022, where he took 21 wickets at a strike rate of 14.19, placing him in the top five wicket-takers in the tournament.

Kuldeep Yadav International Career 

Although Yadav was included in the Indian cricket team for the October 2014 tournament against the West Indies, he did not play in any of the matches. On the 25th of March 2017, he made his Test debut for India against Australia, grabbing four wickets in the opening innings. Yadav is the first left-arm wrist spin bowler to represent the India national cricket team in Test cricket. On the 23rd of June 2017, he played his first-ever One Day International for India against the West Indies. On 9 July 2017, he made his Indian T20I debut against the West Indies.

Kuldeep Yadav ODI Career 

In 2017, Kuldeep played his debut one-day international at Queen's Park Oval against the West Indies. He garnered attention in the 2017 ODIs as he claimed a hat trick against Australia. When Kuldeep and Chahal were together in the playing squad, they were a formidable combination for India, winning selectors over with their brilliant performances over Ashwin and Jadeja. Kuldeep Yadav finished the 2019 World Cup with six wickets in seven games, which was overall a disappointing performance. He was in and out of the lineup because of a decline in his performance. In 2022, he answered the criticism with an incredible bowling performance, taking 45 wickets at an average of 19.15 in 24 innings.

After Chetan Sharma and Kapil Dev, Yadav became the third bowler for India to record a hat-trick in an ODI on 21 September 2017. At Eden Gardens in Kolkata, he scored a hat-trick against Australia. In the opening One-Day International (ODI) match against England on the 12th of July 2018, Yadav claimed his first-ever five-wicket haul while simultaneously creating a new record for the best bowling figures by a left-arm spin bowler of any kind in an ODI (6/25).

He recorded his strongest Asia Cup performance, taking four and five-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, respectively. In the Asia Cup 2023, Kuldeep was also named player of the series. Kuldeep completed the milestone of 150 wickets in ODIs in 88 matches, becoming the fastest Indian to achieve this feat.

Kuldeep Yadav Test Career 

Kuldeep Yadav was included in the Test team of India for their single match against Bangladesh in February 2017. On March 25, 2017,  he made his Test debut for India against Australia at the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium, taking four wickets in the opening innings. Yadav is the first left-arm wrist spin bowler to play in Test cricket for the Indian national team. He is also only the third left-arm spin bowler to grab four wickets on his Test debut.

In October 2018, in his maiden test against the West Indies, he took his first five-wicket haul in a Test and became only the second Indian other than Bhuvneshwar Kumar to take 5-wicket hauls in all three formats.

Kuldeep Yadav T20I Career 

Kuldeep played his debut Indian T20I match against the West Indies on July 9, 2017. In the first T20I against England on July 3, 2018, Yadav not only claimed his first five-for in a T20 International, but he also made history by being the first left-arm wrist-spin bowler to take five wickets in a T20I. In fact, he was only the third Indian, after Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to take five wickets in a T20I. 

Kuldeep Yadav Captaincy 

As of September 2025, Kuldeep Yadav has not captained the Indian national team or any IPL franchise in his career so far.

Kuldeep Yadav Under-19 Career 

Kuldeep Yadav was 17 years old when he made his debut for India U-19 in April 2012. Even though he was a consistent wicket-taker, he was not renowned until he made his international debut at the 2014 U-19 World Cup in Dubai. Yadav became the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in the history of the event in the match against Scotland. With 14 wickets at the end of the competition, he tied for second-most and was crowned India's top wicket-taker. Selection committees were impressed with Yadav's performance, and the Kolkata Knight Riders offered him an Indian Premier League contract in 2016.

Kuldeep Yadav Family 

Kuldeep’s father, Ram Singh Yadav, is a brick kiln owner. It was Kuldeep’s father who wanted Kuldeep to continue playing cricket. His mother, Usha Yadav, is a homemaker. Anushka Singh Yadav, Anita Yadav, and Madhu Yadav are the three sisters of the chinaman spinner. 

Kuldeep Yadav Salary

The Delhi Capitals paid Kuldeep Yadav ₹13.25 crore for the 2025 IPL season. Since Kuldeep Yadav is in Grade B of the central contracts list, his BCCI salary for the 2024–25 contract year is ₹3 crore. He is also eligible for match money for Test matches (₹15 lakh), ODIs (₹6 lakh), and T20Is (₹3 lakh).

Kuldeep Yadav Cars 

Kuldeep Yadav has a Ford EcoSport, an Audi A6, and a Mercedes-Benz GLE.