Kuldeep Yadav

If your business idea is unique and not easy to replicate, it is destined to become a hit in the market. Same is the case with left-arm wristspinners, because they are a rare tribe and unorthodox. Wrist spin is a difficult art to master or you are a Shane Warne. But to be a left-arm wristspinner one has to be natural, that is why their ilk is so rare and fair enough when they attract more attention. However, for a boy starting out in a cricket academy in Kanpur as a pace bowler was asked by his coach to switch to left-arm wristspin.

The boy who later went on to play for India was none other than Kuldeep Yadav. The switch to left-arm wristspin could have backfired for any other youngster, but Kuldeep was a natural as he hit the right lengths and for variation had a great wrong'un.

As he honed his skills, he attracted attention and played India U-19 in 2012. Despite being among the wickets at that level on a consistent basis, no real chance knocked the doors of the 17-year-old. The real spotlight happened in the 2014 U-19 World Cup in the match against Scotland, where Kuldeep took a hat-trick. He finished the tournament with 14 wickets, the joint second-highest.

Kuldeep's cricketing stocks were on the rise before the tournament when Kolkata Knight Riders had bagged him in the auction. Prior to joining the KKR in 2014 he was part of the Mumbai Indians. However, Kuldeep's IPL debut didn't happen at KKR the same season. He later made his KKR debut alongside Sunil Narine in the Champions League, where he impressed one and all with his chinaman bowling.

In October 2014 itself, Kuldeep was included in India's ODI squad for the series against West Indies. Soon after he made his first-class and List A debut. Having made a mark at the domestic and India-A levels, Kuldeep's Test debut had to wait until 2017. In the series deciding match against Australia in Dharamsala, Kuldeep was drafted in.

With over 100 matches in the ODIs, Kuldeep has been a regular in the 50-over format. But the exposure and chances has been limited for him in Test and T20I cricket. There was a phase in his career where he encountered a slump in form, but in the last three years he has regained the fizz in his bowling by bringing in more variations.

In the IPL, Kuldeep is the most successful left-arm wristspinner since his introduction in the tournament in 2016. The 2019 and 2020 seasons he struggled, and the 2021 edition he missed because of a knee injury before KKR let him go. After spending six seasons at KRR, Kuldeep was picked by the Delhi Capitals in 2022, and the move worked for him. He finished the season with 21 wickets at a strike-rate of 14.19.