When Kuldeep Yadav first joined a cricket academy in Kanpur, he started as a fast bowler. However, his coach, Kapil Pandey, asked him to switch to left-arm wrist spin, which is much more uncommon. Kuldeep admitted that he had even tried once before the change was smooth, but he quickly realized that bowling left-arm wrist spin was the way forward for him. He was also good at it, controlling the length well and having a potent wrong’un among his variations.

After having successful stints at the Under-19 level, Kuldeep attracted immediate attention because there haven’t been many bowlers of his calibre in India.

Kuldeep, who was 17 when he played his first India U-19 game in April 2012, stayed under the radar despite consistently taking wickets. His stock prices increased as a result of the Dubai U-19 World Cup in 2014. Kuldeep scored a hat trick in the subsequent match against Scotland after going wicketless in the first match against Pakistan. 

“As Kuldeep, mere ko wicket nikaalna hai (As Kuldeep, I knew I had to take wickets),”

he said after the match.

He became more famous in the games that followed, taking batsmen out repeatedly with his turn, and he took 14 wickets, which were tied for second most in the tournament. Due to his performance, it appeared that the $66,000 that the Kolkata Knight Riders’ scouts paid in the IPL auction prior to the Under-19 World Cup was justified.

During the 2012 season, Kuldeep was a member of the Mumbai Indians team, where he had a fond memory of fooling Sachin Tendulkar in the nets with his wrong foot. That did not result in a debut in the IPL. Knight Riders also did not experience this during the 2014 season. He had to wait until the Champions League, where he showed off his economy as a support bowler for Sunil Narine. He made his first-class and List A debuts shortly after, and he was included in India’s ODI squad for the series against West Indies in October 2014.

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. He had already established himself in the Uttar Pradesh and India A teams. 

RECORDS:

Top Records

• Fastest to 50 wickets
  • 5th: Fastest to 50 wickets (24), One-Day Internationals
• Best career strike rate
  • 2nd: Best career strike rate (12.2), Twenty20 Internationals

ODI records

• Bowling: Most wickets
  • 37th: Best figures in an innings (6/25)
  • 36th: Most wickets in a calendar year (45)
• Bowling: Averages, strike rates and economy
  • 32nd: Best strike rate in an innings (6.2)
• Bowling: Hauls
  • 14th: Most consecutive four-wickets-in-an-innings (2)
• Bowling: Dismissals
  • 23rd: Most wickets taken stumped (15)

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T20I Records

• Bowling: Averages, strike rates and economy
  • 5th: Best career bowling average (14.02)
  • 2nd: Best career strike rate (12.2)
• Bowling: Hauls
  • 35th: Most four-wickets-in-an-innings in a career (2)
• Bowling: Dismissals
  • 28th: Bowler/batters combinations (3)
  • 17th: Most wickets taken stumped (7)

Here’s wishing Kuldeep Yadav a very happy birthday, we hope to see more from him very soon!