Kuldeep Yadav

In a relatively dim era for wristspin, Kuldeep Yadav is a bright spark, bowling its rare left-arm variant and challenging batters by taking the pitch out of the equation.

Unlike Shane Warne, his spiritual predecessor, Kuldeep isn't a showman but more of a regular practitioner, who honed his skills over years of bowling disciplined lines and lengths in white-ball cricket. It was difficult for him to break into the five-day game: with fingerspin allrounders R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja ahead of him in the queue, Kuldeep played only 13 of India's 70 Tests in his first seven years.

Kuldeep, who started as a fast bowler before turning to spin, was the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the 2014 Under-19 World Cup, where he also took a hat-trick., When he made it onto the international circuit in 2017, his slow pace made him difficult to hit. He averaged 20 in his first year in ODIs, the highlight being his 6 for 25 in Nottingham, then the best figures in the format by a left-arm spinner. He also became the first Indian spinner to take two ODI hat-tricks, against Australia in 2017 and West Indies in 2019.

But batters eventually found a way to stamp their authority over Kuldeep and between 2019 and 2021, his one-day average ballooned to 42. He also lost his IPL place after five seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders, who bought him for US$66,000 ahead of the 2014 U-19 World Cup.

Kuldeep worked on his bowling, adding pace, while still getting plenty of overspin to extract bounce and turn from the surface. Where in the 2019 IPL he averaged 71.5, in 2022 - playing for Delhi Capitals - he brought it down to under 20. Knee surgery in 2021 and subsequent rehab to reduce the load on his right knee also made a difference. His one-day economy rate dipped too, and he was the leading wicket-taker in the format in 2023, taking 49 wickets at 20.4, with 15 of those coming in India's run to the World Cup final. He was also part of their title-winning sides at the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.

In four Tests against England at home in 2024, he took 19 wickets, including seven in an innings win in Dharamsala, where, seven years before, he made his Test debut against Australia and took four wickets in a series win.

- Kuldeep is the most successful left-arm wristspinner in the IPL. He is also Delhi Capitals' fourth-highest wicket-taker in the IPL

- He was first introduced by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2016. His form fell away in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and he missed IPL 2021 due to a knee injury before being let go by KKR

- In 2022, after six seasons with KKR, he was picked by DC. The move seemed to work for him, 2022 being his most prolific IPL season: he took 21 wickets at a strike rate of 14.19, finishing in the tournament's top-five wicket-takers. He has stayed with DC since

- There was a bit of a lull in 2023 when Kuldeep managed only ten wickets in 14 matches, but he bounced back in style in 2024, finishing the season with 16 wickets in 11 outings. Kuldeep was one of four players retained by DC ahead of IPL 2025 for INR 13.25 crore

- In IPL 2026, Kuldeep is back with DC, having been retained for INR 13.25 crore