IND vs SA, 2nd Test: Kuldeep Yadav—Keeper of secrets and tormentor of ‘teammates’

One of the many ramifications of the Indian Premier League (IPL)—and the other countless T20 leagues—is that there are fewer ‘trade’ secrets among players these days.

With the constant intermixing of players across teams and leagues, it has become increasingly difficult for players to retain their ‘mysteries’.

India’s Kuldeep Yadav, though, was blessed with the power of foresight. The left-arm wrist spinner was insistent on not bowling to his Delhi Capitals teammate Tristan Stubbs during IPL nets.

“He won’t bowl to me. I have tried a few times to go face him, but he won’t bowl to me,” revealed Stubbs in a podcast last year.

On Saturday, Kuldeep’s far-sighted evasive manoeuvre struck gold, as he dismissed a well-set Stubbs for 49, during India’s second Test against South Africa in Guwahati.

That wicket reduced the visiting side to 187 for four, effectively reinstating equilibrium in a game in which India was largely playing catch-up.

India’s players celebrate after the dismissal of South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs.
| Photo Credit:
AP

The Stubbs scalp was among the three wickets Kuldeep claimed on a day when the odds were ever so slightly in favour of the batters.

In the midst of a hard-fought day of Test cricket, Kuldeep made it a point to remind Stubbs that he can’t hold on to the aforementioned grouse.

“We’ve always chirped with each other that he hasn’t often bowled to me, and then today he walked past and he said, ‘You can’t say I don’t bowl to you anymore,’” said Stubbs at the post-day press conference.

Aside from the banter, the Kuldeep-Stubbs tussle lasted 24 balls, with the South African batter looking in control of his fate for the first 23.

Stubbs was proactive with his footwork against the wrist spinner, often choosing to dance down the track to negate his overspin, and even managing to tonk a six, over long-on.

But, in the end, Stubbs fell for a trick he had envisaged Kuldeep could pull off.

With not much spin on offer off the surface, Kuldeep had already begun to rely on his drift to get the better of the South African batters, as Ryan Rickelton found out earlier.

Up against Stubbs, right at the beginning of his third spell, the wrist spinner fed one just outside the off stump. The ball kept floating away from the South African batter’s outstretched bat, eventually kissing the outside edge and landing in KL Rahul’s grasp at first slip.

“I’ve faced him enough, I’ve played with him, so you get the feel. If I had to think about him before the series, on a good wicket, how would he get you out? It’s probably what he’s done there,” said Stubbs.

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The South African No. 3 offered further explanation on how he was tempted into erring against a ball which he had foreseen.

“I think that was the best one he’s bowled [today]. From my angle, it sort of beat me in the drift, that’s sort of why my hands got away. I think that’s how he got me out, just the drift and my hands sort of following it. On a day one wicket, that’s probably how he’s trying to get you out,” explained Stubbs.

The Stubbs wicket was yet another exhibition of Kuldeep’s knack to squeeze a wicket even in unfavourable conditions—an ability that can only be bettered by Jasprit Bumrah in this Indian team.

The uncomfortable angles Kuldeep generates as a left-arm wrist spinner work perfectly in tandem with the dip and drift he produces with his overspin.

These traits of Kuldeep give him an edge on red-soil pitches, such as the one in Guwahati, feels Indian assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate.

“We know Kuldeep’s strike rate is phenomenal as it is. He’s a wicket-taker and that’s why we’re picking him. The fact that he sort of gets overspin and with the red soil and a little bit more pace in the wicket, maybe he was slightly more effective in the conditions today,” said Ten Doeschate at the end of Day 1.

Over the years, Kuldeep has struggled to break into India’s playing XI in away Tests. He had to sit on the bench for the entirety of the five-match series in England.

With his ability to consistently take conditions out of the equation—and his tendency to fiercely guard his ‘trade secrets’—Kuldeep is strengthening his case further for a permanent spot in the Indian set-up.

Published on Nov 22, 2025