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Kuldeep Yadav's case is a curious one. With a Test bowling average under 24; an ODI bowling average of 28, including two hat-tricks and an incredible 14 in T20Is, one might think he’s key to India’s fortunes across formats, but his fall has been more rapid than the rise.
Not long back, the left-arm wrist-spinner was India’s top tweaker. In a massive turn of fortunes, he struggled to make it to the line-up of his franchise’s XI in the last IPL.
Having been on the bench for Mumbai Indians (MI) as a teenager in 2012 and 2013, Kuldeep Yadav was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) before their tournament-winning season in 2014. Though he didn’t play a part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) that year, he made his debut for KKR as a 19-year-old in the 2014 Champions League T20 (CLT20) and immediately impressed.
Debuting for India across formats in 2017, he made an immediate impression and rose up the ranks. KKR shelled out INR 5.8 crore to pick him up on 2018. Left-arm wrist-spinners are a rare breed, and Kuldeep’s guile even won over his idol Shane Warne, who also became his mentor.
Things soon changed for the worse. After two poor IPL seasons in 2019 and 2020, KKR didn’t play him in a single game in the 2021 edition. His slump in the IPL coincided with his lack of consistency in international cricket, eventually leading to him losing his place in the side.
After a gap of six months, the 27-year-old returns to the national side for the ODIs against West Indies starting February 6. The three ODIs will provide Yadav another chance to prove his worth for India and also be an audition platform for him for the IPL auctions.
Kuldeep’s base price in the IPL 2022 auction is INR 1 crore.
Four teams that could eye Kuldeep Yadav in IPL 2022 Auction
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
CSK will look forward to building a potent spin attack to launch a strong title defense. The track at Chepauk has historically assisted spin. Of late, CSK has relied on pacers like Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran and Josh Hazlewood for success. Considering the tournament will be played in India, they will be more reliant on spinners.
The CSK management have enjoyed having a wrist spinner in their squad. In the recent past, they had the services of Imran Tahir, Piyush Chawla and Karn Sharma. The wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav could be a good addition to their existing stable that already consists of Ravindra Jadeja, a left-arm orthodox, and Moeen Ali, an off-spinner.
Even from a career point of view, Kuldeep Yadav’s move to CSK could revive his international career. MS Dhoni played a massive role in his rise in international cricket, with constant input and guidance from behind the stumps.
In the ODIs that Kuldeep Yadav has played with MS Dhoni behind the stumps, he has 91 wickets from 47 matches at 22.5. In the 18 matches he has played without MS Dhoni, he has 16 wickets at over 61, going at 6.2 per over.
With the duo united in the yellow brigade, Kuldeep could find his mojo back, resulting in collective success.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
The IPL finally has a team from Uttar Pradesh, the state Kuldeep Yadav represents in domestic cricket. Encashing on the local fanbase could be a good strategic move for the Sanjeev Goenka-owned franchise to pick the Kanpur-born Kuldeep Yadav.
KL Rahul, a long-time teammate of Kuldeep, will lead LSG. The franchise has also picked young, talented leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi as their third pick.
With two wrist-spinners in Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav in the LSG line-up, the new franchise has an opportunity to recreate the Kuldeep-Chahal magic that helped India win many matches between 2017 and 2019.
Team Ahmedabad
The new team from Ahmedabad is expected to be led by Hardik Pandya, who has been a long-time teammate of Kuldeep Yadav. With Rashid Khan picked as their primary spinner, the left-armer could go on to provide more variation and attacking options to the unit.
Rashid Khan’s presence can also help Kuldeep get better as a bowler, and we have also seen the track at the new stadium in Ahmedabad assisting spin bowlers. It will be interesting to see if the Ahmedabad team will bank on someone who seems more of a shadow of his glorious past.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Before the second leg of the 2021 IPL, Kuldeep Yadav hailed Rohit Sharma’s leadership skills and expressed doubts about how the then KKR skipper Eoin Morgan viewed him. He ended up warming the benches for the entire 2021 IPL season.
Rohit is widely believed to have played a role in Kuldeep’s return for the upcoming ODI series against West Indies.
MI have released Rahul Chahar and Jayant Yadav from their squad and will look to prepare a bowling attack around Jasprit Bumrah. With Kuldeep’s wealth of experience and Rohit’s backing, MI could target the spinner. A decade back, it was at an MI camp where Kuldeep had his first tryst with IPL. Though his role was restricted to being a net bowler.
