India’s left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has promised to return to the County Championship after picking a career-best 10-wicket match haul to spin Yorkshire to an innings-and-106-run victory over Essex at Headingley. Kuldeep took 4-70 in the first innings before returning figures of 6-50 in the second innings and grabbed his first ten-wicket performance in first-class cricket, which in turn secured Yorkshire’s Division One status inside three days. Kuldeep, who joined Yorkshire on a short-term contract in July, earned the County Championship Player of the Round award for his match figures of 10-120.
India’s left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has promised to return to the County Championship after picking a career-best 10-wicket match haul to spin Yorkshire to an innings-and-106-run victory over Essex at Headingley.
It’s not the home conditions that I grew up playing in, but this is the ultimate home now, so playing here and getting a ten-for, it’s been so good,” he said in a statement on Monday. “When I was about to get the sixth one, I thought, ‘Give me one more, let me complete the ten-wicket haul! However, his performance against Essex underlined his match-winning capabilities in red-ball cricket as Yorkshire prepare for their next fixture against Somerset. “It’s nice to be here, everyone is so kind and very humble, and they’ve been very welcoming. If you look at our team, we’ve got lovely lads, lovely young talent in the squad, so to play alongside them feels so good. I’ll definitely come back, that’s a promise. McGrath indicated that Yorkshire would be eager to sign Kuldeep for a future campaign. “We’d bite his hand off, wouldn’t we? He’s an amazing character and his passion for the game… he just loves bowling. “The thing I love about KD is the love of craft. He comes here to play and absolutely loves it. We talk a lot of spin, and we have a great relationship.”
Kuldeep’s initial stint was disrupted by his presence in India’s squad for the 1-0 Test series win in Sri Lanka before he featured in Yorkshire’s defeat to Surrey at The Oval. Yorkshire off-spinner Dom Bess, who took five wickets in the match and shared an 83-run eighth-wicket partnership with Kuldeep in the first innings, highlighted his impact on the squad.
