Decoding Kuldeep Yadav's stellar T20I stats outside Asia
Kuldeep Yadav will seek to extend his dream run in T20I cricket as India meet hosts South Africa in a three-match series, starting on December 10. The left-arm wrist-spinner he has proven his mettle across different conditions. While most of the spinners in Asia struggle to perform outside the continent, Kuldeep has aced this challenge. Here are his T20I stats outside Asia.
Best bowling average outside Asia
Kuldeep has played 14 T20Is outside the Asian continent and has returned with 28 scalps in these games. He boasts the highest average (11.60) among full-member team bowlers with at least 25 wickets outside Asia. Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis trails Kuldeep in this regard with an average of 12.93. Among Indians, Arshdeep Singh (17.9) trails Kuldeep on this list.
Third-best economy rate outside Asia
Kuldeep's economy rate of 5.96 is only third to New Zealand's Daniel Vettori (5.35) and Mendis (5.83) among bowlers with 25 or more wickets outside Asia. Meanwhile, Kuldeep's solitary five-wicket haul in the format, 5/24 came on England soil. He also owns a four-wicket haul in Ireland. He is yet to play a T20I match against South Africa.
Fastest Indian to 50 T20I wickets
Earlier this year, Kuldeep became the fastest Indian to complete 50 T20I wickets, accomplishing the feat in 30 innings. He has now raced to 52 wickets in 32 games at an economy of 6.62. Interestingly, the 28-year-old has the best bowling average in T20Is (14.57) among full-member players. The 28-year-old has claimed eight wickets in seven T20Is this year (ER: 5.64).
Sensational run in 2023
Kuldeep has been on a roll this year across formats as he has completed 56 wickets in 35 international outings in 2023 at 19.53. With the ICC T20 World Cup taking place next year, Kuldeep would be raring to extend his golden run.
