‘Kya hi karenge personal milestones ka ab’ – Fans react as Kuldeep Yadav becomes fastest Indian to claim 50 wickets in T20Is

 ‘Kya hi karenge personal milestones ka ab’ – Fans react as Kuldeep Yadav becomes fastest Indian to claim 50 wickets in T20Is

Kuldeep Yadav (Source: Twitter)

Kuldeep Yadav has been one of the best spinners in international cricket since his debut. The unique spinner from Kanpur has had ups and downs in his career till now but remains to be the top spinner of India, especially in the limited-overs formats. The presence of the duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja has kept Kuldeep out of the Test side for a long time. But ODIs, the case is different.  

After India failed to win the Champions Trophy 2017, the leg spinners were preferred in the team over the off-spinners in the limited overs formats. That was when the duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav made a name for themselves. Yadav was particularly great in all the formats. Till 2019, Chahal and Yadav played a crucial role in several series wins for India.  

After the 2019 ODI World Cup, the two leg spinners had a rough patch, as the batters started to read them well. Kuldeep had to reinvent himself to make a comeback to the side in 2022. Since his comeback, Kuldeep has been such a fine bowler for the Indian team in all formats. In Test cricket, the 28-year-old claimed 8 wickets against Bangladesh in Chittagong including a 5-wicket haul.   

Fastest to 50 T20I wickets for an Indian

In ODIs, Kuldeep has claimed 34 wickets in 19 innings at a bowling average of 20.91 since 2022. In T20Is, which is his best format, Kuldeep has claimed 9 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 14.56, at an economy of just 5.24 since 2022. Yadav never had a bad year in T20Is, which is a testimony to his consistency in the shortest format of the game.  

As Kuldeep claimed 3 wickets in the third T20I against West Indies, he became the second fastest bowler to claim 50 wickets in T20Is. The chinaman spinner reached the milestone in just 30 matches (29 innings) which is the quickest for an Indian bowler in the format. Only Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka reached the milestone quicker than Kuldeep among the players from Test-playing nations.   

Here’s how the fans reacted to the achievement of Yadav –

https://twitter.com/SM_Asadmahboob/status/1688941557771378688?s=20

https://twitter.com/act_yash/status/1688939826178125824?s=20

Steven

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