What makes Kuldeep Yadav more than a handful in middle overs of T20Is?

Kuldeep Yadav’s wicket-taking brilliance since T20 World Cup 2022 shows why he’s India’s middle-over enforcer in T20Is.

After warming the benches for the five-match Test series in England, India’s spinner Kuldeep Yadav made a great start as soon as he was handed the ball in the 2025 Asia Cup. He has taken seven wickets in two matches of the Asia Cup so far, bagging Man of the Match awards in both the games. The spinner has been very effective in the two games that he has pushed the current flavour of the T20I season, with Varun Chakravarthy in the background. A look at Kuldeep’s performance in the last few seasons shows the spinner has been the best tweaker for India in this format in the middle-overs. 

Kuldeep Yadav spins it in middle-overs 
Spinners are generally used in the middle-overs (7 to 15) in T20 cricket to choke the opponents by restricting the flow of runs. Kuldeep has not only done this job to perfection, but he has also been a strike bowler, bagging the most wickets by an Indian spinner in the middle-overs since the 2022 World T20.

Here’s the list of top India’s spinners with most wickets in the middle-overs in T20Is since the end of the 2022 World T20:

Kuldeep tops the list with 30 wickets, boasting a strike rate of 10.6 just slightly higher than Varun’s 9.3. It implies Kuldeep takes 10.6 balls to take a wicket, while Varun takes 9.3 balls. However, Kuldeep concedes the fewest runs per wicket, averaging 10.7, while Varun is the next competitor with 11.7. A special note must be mentioned about Axar Patel, who has taken 28 wickets, but he has played 14 more innings than Kuldeep Yadav. 

It is also important to note that Kuldeep has been mostly used in middle-overs when the ball becomes slightly softer after the powerplay and the field is spread. Otherwise, he hardly has any wickets to show in phases other than middle-overs in T20Is in the few chances he has received to bowl during those periods.

Read More: Varun Chakravarthy & Kuldeep Yadav in T20 cricket: A comparative analysis

Here’s how Kuldeep has fared in different phases of a T20I game since the 2022 World T20:

Kuldeep Yadav shows his magic in T20Is
Overall, in T20 cricket, Kuldeep showed his top performance in the middle-overs. This phase also helps Kuldeep to experiment a bit with his line and length as a rare bad ball won’t cross the boundary as fielders would be set in the deep to save the fours and sixes. 

Here’s how Kuldeep fares in T20 cricket in various phases since the 2022 World T20:

Bishnoi top wicket-taker post 2022 WT20
However, post the 2022 World T20, Kuldeep Yadav missed quite a few matches owing to injuries and inconsistent form. Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel were the preferred spinners before Kuldeep made a roaring comeback to push Bishnoi out of the competition, while still facing a tough challenge from Varun.

Read More: India’s bowlers have taken 185 wickets in middle overs (7-15) in T20Is post T20 World Cup 2022

Here’s the list of top wicket-takers among India’s spinners since the 2022 World T20:

Bishnoi played 32 T20I post the 2022 World T20, bagging 45 wickets, while Axar Patel played the most matches (36) and took 40 wickets. But both Kuldeep and Varun rose like a phoenix to become India’s star spinners in T20Is. The two have the best bowling average and strike rate with over 30 wickets post the 2022 World T20. 

During this phase, Kuldeep had the measure of South Africa and West Indies bagging six wickets each as the batters struggled to read him off his hands and the pitch. Here’s how Kuldeep has fared against opponents since the 2022 World T20 (Minimum 2 wickets). 

Read More: Asia Cup 2025, IND vs PAK: Kuldeep, Axar spin brilliance sinks Pakistan; India go 3-1 up in Asia Cup T20Is

Why are opponents struggling to play Kuldeep in the middle-overs?

A special skilled Chinaman bowler
A left-arm wrist spin is a difficult art to master, and not many dare to take up this skill. Hence, there are very few Chinaman bowlers in professional cricket. Hence, batters who have not played much or not played left-arm wrist spin at all, struggled to play Kuldeep. This art of spin bowling generally goes into the right-handed batters, but Kuldeep has mastered this art of spin bowling by bowling a googly where the batters see the ball move away, when it should have moved in. With subtle change of action and grip over the ball, Kuldeep gets the ball to dance to his tunes, and forces batters to make mistakes. 

Kuldeep’s control and variations
Controlling such an art of spin bowling is not easy, or otherwise, the bowler would continue to struggle to get the line and length. Kuldeep has good command over his skills, especially his line and length which he seldom misses. He is neither too full or too short, making it indecisive for batters to play on back or front foot, and hence, brings out mistakes from the batters. He also has good variations in his armoury which he uses depending on the batter’s struggle at the crease to get him dismissed. It just shows Kuldeep has a smart cricketing brain that is working overtime whenever he comes on to bowl. 

Former India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar revealed the practice that Kuldeep used to do that helped him achieve success today. Nayar said Kuldeep “used to bowl on sand where the ball stops. He bowled with speed to gain more bite.” 

Read More: Asia Cup 2025, UAE vs IND: Kuldeep, Dube run through UAE line-up; India overhaul target in 27 balls

Kuldeep’s top performances since the 2022 WT20

Kuldeep’s 5/17 against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2023
India had posted a target of 201. Although India had a cushion of runs, it was Kuldeep, who came in to bowl at No 6, helped fasten things up. Kuldeep took 5 for 17 in 2.5 overs, as India went on to win the match by 106 runs. Kuldeep’s 5-wicket haul helped India take South Africa’s last six wickets for just 20 runs.

Kuldeep’s 3/18 against Pakistan in 2025 Asia Cup
Kuldeep Yadav along with Varun and Axar stemmed the flow of runs in Pakistan innings during the middle-overs. He got the dangerous Sahibzada Farhan to hole out in the deep, and later came back to dismiss two other Pakistan batters to shift the game in India’s favour. Kuldeep’s 3/18 earned him the straight second man of the match awards.

The way forward
Kuldeep has begun well, and must look to complement Varun if India want to defend not only the Asia Cup, but the World T20 as well. Kuldeep has already 7 wickets in 2 games in this Asia Cup, and is looking good for more. If Kuldeep plays well along with Varun, the two spinners have a chance to become the attacking spin option in the middle-overs and give India an edge in the 2024 World T20.

Read More: Numerical story of India’s batting dominance in T20Is post T20 WC 2022