Imagine a bowler who can unlock wickets seemingly at will, regardless of the pitch. That's the enigma of Kuldeep Yadav, and his mastery lies in the subtle yet devastating art of angles. But here's where it gets controversial... is he the most underutilized weapon in cricket today? Let's delve into what makes him so special.
Think about the simple act of a bowler running in and delivering the ball. The angle they create – whether bowling 'over the wicket' (approaching the batsman from the outside of the stumps) or 'around the wicket' (approaching from the inside) – drastically alters the batsman's perspective. While a left-arm bowler going 'over' and a right-arm bowler going 'around' might seem to create similar angles, the nuances of human biomechanics make them subtly different. A right-arm 'around the wicket' bowler, for example, can deliver from a much wider position on the crease compared to a left-arm 'over the wicket' bowler, who can get significantly closer to the stumps. These little tweaks can have a huge impact on the ball's trajectory and the batsman's response.
All of this naturally leads us to Kuldeep Yadav, arguably the most cunning exponent of left-arm wrist-spin bowling 'over the wicket' in the history of Test cricket. That's a bold claim, but it's easily substantiated by the sheer rarity of left-arm wrist-spin in Test matches. Left-arm finger spinners also bowl 'over the wicket,' but against left-handed batsmen, this becomes a mirror image of the usual right-arm off-spin, and against right-handers, it’s often a defensive tactic. For Kuldeep, bowling 'over the wicket' is his bread and butter, his default setting of attack.
And this is the part most people miss... no other left-arm wrist-spinner has even reached 100 Test wickets. Johnny Wardle managed 102, but he primarily bowled left-arm orthodox spin. Garry Sobers, a legend in his own right, amassed 235 wickets, but he was primarily a left-arm seamer and orthodox spinner. Kuldeep, in only his 15th Test match, has already become the most successful bowler of his kind. He boasts 65 wickets at an impressive average of 21.90. But if that isn't enough to convince you, his strike rate of 37.00 is the best of any spinner ever with at least 50 Test wickets! This isn't just good; it's historically exceptional.
His stats reflect a once-in-a-generation talent, a bowler who masterfully blends the challenging skills of imparting furious spin with pinpoint accuracy – a feat achieved by only a select few wrist-spinners, regardless of their dominant arm. He possesses an innate feel for line, length, and trajectory, consistently finding the combination that makes the batsman most uncomfortable. He is a true master of the 'over the wicket' angle.
Consider two deliveries Kuldeep bowled on a recent Sunday morning, dismissing Shai Hope and Tevin Imlach in quick succession after they had built a 49-run partnership for the fifth West Indies wicket. Hope, in a previous match, had been bowled attempting to drive Kuldeep against the turn. The angle across him, accentuated by away-drift, widened the gap between bat and pad, allowing the sharply turning ball to burst through. In this instance, Hope was understandably cautious about the threat to his inside edge as Kuldeep delivered another ball from 'over the wicket.' However, even before the ball landed, a flaw in Hope's defense was revealed: his front foot moved straight down the pitch, aligning roughly with middle stump, while the ball was already drifting towards off. Hope correctly identified the stock ball that would turn in, but misjudged the degree of turn. The ball straightened, narrowly missing the outside edge and clipping the top of off-stump.
The delivery to Imlach was another stock ball, slightly slower, shorter, and straighter. It landed on a patch of the pitch that caused it to turn more sharply and skid through a bit lower. Imlach, playing back, was trapped lbw, beaten on the inside edge while trying to flick the ball away. Both were stock deliveries, angled across the right-handed batsman and turning in the same direction. One pitched roughly in line with off-stump, the other around middle. One beat the outside edge, the other the inside. Both ended up hitting the stumps or being projected to do so.
These two balls perfectly illustrate the difficulty of facing Kuldeep as a right-handed batsman. He bowls from 'over the wicket,' releasing the ball from a position often above the umpire's right shoulder. From there, his stock ball can land anywhere from leg stump to well outside off, turn or straighten inwards, beat either edge, and remain on course for the stumps. This gives him a seemingly endless array of pitching lines and degrees of turn to get batsmen out lbw or bowled.
And all of this is just with his stock ball and his angles! This is before we even consider his variations in pace, drift, and dip, which further scramble a batsman's judgment. He might straighten the ball from a middle-stump line if he senses a batsman is becoming too closed off, forcing them to play around their front pad. He might float the ball slower and wider if he senses a batsman is worried about getting out lbw and hesitant to move their front foot across, tempting them to play away from their body. He might push one through flatter if a batsman tends to stay on the back foot, inducing them to play the trajectory rather than the length. And he can do all of this while constantly threatening both edges and the stumps.
All of this happens before he even unleashes his 'wrong'un' (googly), a variation he uses sparingly against right-handers and more frequently against left-handers. He prioritizes keeping the stumps in play at all times. The geometry of Kuldeep's bowling ensures a wicket-to-wicket path more frequently than most spinners, a fact supported by ball-tracking data.
In Test matches in India since the start of 2022, spinners have averaged pitching in line and finishing within the stumps with roughly 7% of their deliveries to right-handed batsmen and 5% to left-handers. India's spinners, unsurprisingly, have performed better. R Ashwin has achieved this with 7% of his balls to right-handers and 11% to left-handers. Ravindra Jadeja has managed 9% to left-handers and 15% to right-handers. But here's the kicker: Kuldeep shows no such preference. He bowls stump-to-stump deliveries with a frequency of 13% against right-handers and 13.5% against left-handers. This explains why there's almost no difference between his averages against right-handers (21.94) and left-handers (21.73).
Remember, these numbers are based on precise ball-tracking and exclude balls that pitch just an inch wide of the stumps or are projected to miss by a similar margin. Adding those balls to the equation highlights just how often Kuldeep makes batsmen fear for their pads and stumps, inducing errors through constant pressure. On that Sunday, this relentless stump-to-stump examination resulted in one bowled and two lbws within the first hour – exactly what India needed on a slow, low Delhi pitch where edges were unlikely to carry and keeping the stumps in play was crucial.
It reaffirmed Kuldeep's value on pitches that don't offer much natural spin. He's more likely to beat batsmen in the air than most finger spinners, and he can turn the ball both ways. But often, his mastery of the stock angle and stock ball is enough. His performance will have only strengthened the belief among his fans that he should have been included in India's recent tour of England. He didn't get the chance, and India drew the series 2-2. Did that result justify his non-selection, or did his absence prevent India from winning?
No one knows for sure. However, his five-wicket haul left at least one member of India's coaching staff pondering what might have been. India's assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, acknowledged the difficult decisions involved in team selection, citing the high-scoring nature of the English wickets and the need to balance the batting lineup. However, he admitted that Kuldeep's performance had raised questions about whether he could have made a difference in matches like those in Manchester or Headingley. "But I think he's done himself some favours, looking forward, if we do have to make the brave call where we want to win Test matches, maybe we do go a batter light and play Kuldeep, judged on how he's bowled again in these two Tests."
If you're a staunch supporter of Kuldeep, believing he deserves a place in the team regardless of the conditions, these words likely validated your feelings, even if his bowling hadn't already done so. So, what do you think? Is Kuldeep Yadav cricket's most underappreciated asset? Should India prioritize his inclusion in future Test matches, even if it means sacrificing a batsman? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!
