What happened to Kuldeep Yadav: KKR spinner returns to India; set to miss IPL 2021

Kuldeep Yadav: The 26-year old Indian spinner will take no further role in the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League.

Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Kuldeep Yadav is no more part of their bio-bubble for the ongoing second leg of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League in the UAE.

Yadav, 26, has suffered a knee injury and is expected to be out of action which is likely to include IPL 2021 and some part of the forthcoming Indian domestic and bumper international home season.

With the presence of Indian and overseas spin-bowling options namely Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Harbhajan Singh, Shakib Al Hasan and Pawan Negi, it remains to be seen if Knight Riders will name a replacement for Yadav for the remainder of IPL 2021 or not.

Hello UAE 🇦🇪
Off the mark with our first training session ☀️ @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/igATWjRI3N

— Kuldeep yadav (@imkuldeep18) September 4, 2021

Injury could present a further setback for Kuldeep Yadav

There is no going into a safe house regarding the fact that Yadav had dropped down the pecking order for both KKR and India. A downfall which had started in IPL 2019, it has seen Yadav being devoid of opportunities across formats and teams.

The sudden emergence of an archetype mystery spinner in Chakravarthy has further affected the left-arm wrist-spinner’s spot. A regular in Knight Riders’ Playing XI in 2017-18, Yadav has picked just five wickets in 14 IPL matches (didn’t get an opportunity in IPL 2021) at an average of 75.60, an economy rate of 8.40 and a strike rate of 54 since the start of 2019.

Post the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Yadav has represented India in 14 ODIs, five T20Is and a Test picking a total of 22 wickets at an average and economy rate of 44.27 and 6.23 respectively.

It is on the back of these numbers that Yadav isn’t part of India’s 15-member squad (which comprises of five spin-bowling options) for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 also scheduled to be played in the UAE from next month.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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