11 Interesting facts about Kuldeep Yadav - The Indian Chinaman

Kuldeep Yadav managed to garner a lot of attention as soon as he broke out at the big level. The cricket crazy nation of India had never seen a chinaman bowler excel so well before. Hence, when Kuldeep got his chance in the U19 World Cup in 2014, he became an instant hit. Ever since his exploits in the U19 World Cup, he has continued to impress in every opportunity that he has got.

He turned out to be a value addition for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and then made giant strides in domestic circuit for Uttar Pradesh. He had been on the fringes of an international debut for quite some time. But his big moment arrived when India took on Australia in the Dharamsala Test in 2017. He went on to scalp 4/68 on his debut to bamboozle the audiences yet again.

Let’s have a look at some of the interesting facts about Kuldeep Yadav

1. Born and brought up:

Kuldeep Yadav was born in a small village called Shiv Singh Khera in Unnao district on December 14, 1994.

2. Promising talent:

He is a slow left-arm chinaman bowler. He has played for India Under-19 cricket team in the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

3. Missing out:

He was first picked in the Indian Under-19 team as a 17-year old in April 2012 but missed out on selection for the Under-19 World Cup, which India eventually went on to win under the leadership of Unmukt Chand.

4. First-class career:

In 10 First class matches, Kuldeep has notched up a half-century and scored 131 runs. He has also scalped 29 wickets at a staggering economy of 3.84.

5. Hat-trick man:

Playing for India in the 2014 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, he took a hat-trick against Scotland.

6. National call-up:

He was selected in Indian cricket team to play against West Indies in October 2014 but was not able to get a chance as West Indies withdraw the tour at half due to a dispute between players and the board.

7. Mumbai Indian connection:

He was a member of the Mumbai Indians squad in 2012 but didn’t get to play a game. He managed to trick Sachin Tendulkar in the nets but that did not get him a game in the tournament.

8. Turning for Knight Riders:

He scalped 6 wickets from 5 games in the champions League T20 2014, thereby playing a crucial role in KKR’s progress to the final.

9. On a different note:

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 – chinaman. The change wasn’t smooth as Kuldeep admitted that he had even cried once, but he soon realised bowling spin was the way forward for him.

10. T20 steel:

In 27 T20 matches, Kuldeep has notched up 37 wickets at an average of 18.94 and an economy of 7.10.

11. Dream Test debut

Kuldeep Yadav made his Test debut against Australia at Dharamsala in 2017. He replaced Virat Kohli in the line up. Kohli had to bow out at the last moment due to a shoulder injury. Yadav grabbed the opportunity with both hands and returned with figures of 4/68 in the first innings. David Warner was his first Test scalp.