2 min readUpdated: Jul 22, 2026 10:02 PM IST
India spinner Kuldeep Yadav has joined English County side Yorkshire to play five one-day matches and three red-ball games, the club said on Wednesday. Kuldeep will play the One-Day Cup games from July 24 to August 2 before joining India for their two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in August. He will then rejoin Yorkshire for playing their final three County Championship matches of the season.
“I’m really pleased to be joining Yorkshire and grateful for this opportunity,” said Kuldeep. “It will be a real privilege to represent a Club with Yorkshire’s proud history. I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of playing in English conditions and after speaking with the management, I became really excited to join up with the team and I’m looking forward to making a positive contribution during my time at Headingley.”
Welcome to Yorkshire, Kuldeep! https://t.co/qhUrLGkVNR
— Yorkshire CCC (@YorkshireCCC) July 22, 2026
Kuldeep had been benched for the entirety of India’s white-ball tour of Ireland and England, a decision that raised eyebrows with the team preferring Washington Sundar ahead of him. India ended up losing all three series that they played, including a historic 2-0 whitewash at the hands of Ireland.
Kuldeep has never played at Headingley in his Test career and has played twice at the ground in ODIs — against England in an ODI series in July 2018 and against Sri Lanka in the 2019 World Cup. In Test cricket, he has played just once in England — the Lord’s Test in 2018 which England won by an innings and 198 runs. Kuldeep couldn’t take any wickets in England’s lone innings and bowled nine overs for 44 runs. Kuldeep has taken 79 wickets in 18 Test that he has played in his career at an average of 22.35. In ODIs, he has taken 194 wickets in 121 matches at an average of 27.04.
“Given the dry summer we’ve experienced, we expect spin to play an important role during the closing stages of the season,” said Yorkshire General Manager of Cricket Gavin Hamilton. “Kuldeep gives us another dimension with his left-arm wrist spin and brings a wealth of experience at the highest level. We’re delighted to welcome him to Yorkshire.”
