Data Shorts: The numbers behind Kuldeep's troubling slump

"I missed my partner Kuldeep," said Axar Patel after DC's eight-wicket defeat to CSK earlier this week – their fourth in a row at home. As KKR extended the streak to five on Friday, Axar reiterated, "spinners made quite a few mistakes". Across these two games, DC spinners collectively returned 2/161 in 16 overs (ER: 10.06), compared to 6/117 in 19 overs (ER: 6.15) by their visiting counterparts.

Largely down to Kuldeep Yadav and Axar, the combined T20 wickets tally for Indian spinners in the DC squad before the start of IPL 2026 was 664, well clear of the next best 525 for PBKS. However, the bowling has struggled and they're yet to crack the perfect combination after 11 games.

Kuldeep has been a major disappointment, with just seven wickets from 10 outings. Of the 277 instances of a spinner bowling at least 25 overs in an IPL season, he's just the second to have gone at over 10 an over (10.66), only behind Ravi Bishnoi (10.83) in 2025. He has conceded 29 sixes, a number matched by one and exceeded by four other bowlers for most in an edition, none of whom have played fewer than 15 games.

He has bowled all his overs outside the Powerplay, 85% in the middle-phase. The combined economy rate for spinners in Overs 7-15 in IPL 2026 has been 8.72, Kuldeep has gone at 10.14. He has finished his four-overs quota in just five of the 11 games.

That Kuldeep, a strike-bowler who is expected to provide breakthroughs, has gone wicketless in six of his 10 outings adds to the misery. His strike-rate has been 28.2, well lower than 16.8 across his T20 career. DC started IPL 2025 with five wins from their first six games, the wrist-spinner bagging 11 wickets (ER: 6.04). He managed just four (ER: 8) in the next seven, and DC lost five of those. That slump has extended this season.

DC have just won two games (one via a Super Over) out of 11 in Delhi in the IPL since 2025. Kuldeep has bagged six wickets in these 11 matches at 57, while going at 9.5 per over.

The striking feature of Kuldeep's IPL career has been that he has had identical numbers against righties and lefties. However, he has consistently missed his lengths in IPL 2026, more a function of reactive bowling, and that has reflected in his numbers.

Kuldeep by lengths in IPL 2026

The 11 deliveries he pitched at a length were taken for 27 by the KKR batters on Friday, while the five in a back-of-a-length zone yielded two singles. Overall, of the 10 deliveries he's banged halfway into the pitch, six have gone for maximums.

Following an underwhelming run, Kuldeep could be the one to make way for one of the two uncapped spin-bowling all-rounders on the bench with three games to go.