Kuldeep Yadav Signs with Yorkshire for County Championship and One-Day Cup

July 22: India left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has signed for Yorkshire for a two-part stint during the 2026 English domestic season, marking the first county assignment of his career.

Kuldeep will initially represent Yorkshire in the One-Day Cup, playing five matches between July 24 and August 2. He will then return to India for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka before rejoining Yorkshire in September for the club's final three County Championship fixtures.

The move comes after a frustrating white-ball tour of Ireland and England, where Kuldeep did not feature in any of India's ten limited-overs matches. His continued omission, even after all-rounder Washington Sundar suffered an injury, drew widespread attention.

Expressing his excitement about the opportunity, Kuldeep said:"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. I'm looking forward to making a positive contribution during my time at Headingley."

Opportunity to showcase red-ball skills

Although Kuldeep has toured England three times with India, he has played just one Test there—the Lord's Test in 2018—where he bowled only nine overs.

The 31-year-old last appeared in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June and has built an impressive Test record with 79 wickets in 18 matches at an average of 22.35. In ODIs, he has claimed 194 wickets in 121 matches, including career-best figures of 6 for 25, and has also been part of two ICC T20 World Cup-winning Indian squads.

Yorkshire excited to add spin weapon

Yorkshire's General Manager Gavin Hamilton believes Kuldeep's arrival will significantly strengthen the squad during the closing stages of the season."Kuldeep is an accomplished, international-quality player who will add incredible strength to our lineup. Given the dry summer we've experienced, we expect spin to play an important role, and Kuldeep gives us another dimension with his left-arm wrist-spin and vast international experience."

Fifth Indian to represent Yorkshire

When Kuldeep makes his Yorkshire debut against Glamorgan on Friday, he will become the fifth Indian cricketer to play for the county after:

• Sachin Tendulkar
• Yuvraj Singh
• Cheteshwar Pujara
• Mayank Agarwal

Ruturaj Gaikwad had signed for Yorkshire in 2025 but withdrew before joining due to personal reasons.

Kuldeep also becomes the second active Indian spinner to feature in the County Championship this season, joining Manav Suthar, who is currently representing Warwickshire.

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