15 Facts About Kuldeep Yadav The First Chinaman Bowler India Has Produced

When talking about cricket, bowling and batting is the only thing that comes to mind. Moreover, for winning, bowling is equally important as batting and spin bowling is a technique that only a few can master. In the Indian team, one of the best players known for his spin bowling art is Kuldeep Yadav.

He grabbed the nation’s attention after his trial debut match against Australia in the Dharamshala Test 2017. Kuldeep garnered attention and made it to the headline for his performance against the West Indies match in Spain.

Here are a few interesting facts about Kuldeep Yadav who helped take the crucial wickets for the Indian team to win:

1. Kuldeep Yadav was born in Uttar Pradesh

He was born on 14th December 1994 in a very small district of Uttar Pradesh called Unnao which is why he also played numerous domestic matches.

2. Kuldeep comes from a poor family

He is the son of a brick kiln owner and they lived in their village, later they moved to Kanpur for his cricket career.

3. First chinaman bowler India has produced in it’s 82-year-long Test history

He is known for his left-arm chinaman bowling technique, which is very rare in Indian cricket history. In the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Kuldeep played for India on the Under-19 cricket team.

Chinaman is considered to be a leg-spin delivery by a left-arm bowler.

4. Training journey from fast bowler to slow spinner

When he started his training at the cricket academy in Kanpur, initially he was a fast bowler but under the guidance of his coach (Kapil Pandey), he switched to left-arm slow bowling. Although it was not easy for Kuldeep to adopt a new technique, he had practiced a lot to master it.

5. Kuldeep’s Under 19 cricket career

He was selected for the under-19 team in April 2012 when he was just 17 years old but at that time he missed the selections for the under-19 World Cup. Nevertheless, he played against Scotland in the under-19 world cup representing the Indian cricket team in 2014.

6. Kuldeep played an important part in the Under-19 World Cup team

During the Under-19 world cup held in UAE, he became an integral part of the team after performing continuously for 18 months. His performance in the 6 matches backed up his position in the team as he got 14 wickets from those matches.

7. Kuldeep took a hat-trick against Scotland while playing for India in the 2014 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup.

8. Kuldeep Yadav’s IPL career

In the IPL match, he showed his gratitude to the IPL franchise by taking six wickets from five games in Champions League T20 in 2014, he played an important role in IPL for KKR’s progress till the final.

9. He was also a member of the Mumbai Indians squad

During the 2012 IPL, he was also a part of Mumbai Indian but did not get to play in a single game. But he got the chance to perform in front of the master blaster, Sachin Tendulkar in net practice.

10. KKR took Kuldeep under their wing for $66,000

Despite performing well for MI, they decided not to re-recruit him for the next IPL but as soon Kolkata Knight Riders got the news, they gladly bought him in an IPL auction for $66,000.

11. Joining the Indian Squad for the ODI series

After his Champions League T20 stunt, he earned the surprise recruitment call to play against West Indies in the ongoing ODI series. That meant joining the Indian squad without playing any first-class game for Uttar Pradesh.

12. Kuldeep became the first bowler for India to take two hat-tricks in international cricket against the West Indies on 18 December 2019.

13. In terms of innings, Yadav became the fastest spin bowler for India

In the second ODI against Australia, on 17 January 2020, Yadav became the fastest spin bowler for India to take 100 wickets in ODI cricket, in his 58th innings.

14. Kuldeep is an avid animal lover.

15. Kuldeep was bought by the Delhi Capitals in the IPL auction 2022 in February 2022.