Kuldeep Yadav (born 14 December 1994) is an Indian cricketer who plays for India and for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket and for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He started out as a fast bowler at academy level, but his coach advised him to become a rare left-arm unorthodox spin bowler considering his build, which was ill-suited for fast bowling. He played for India Under-19 cricket team in the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup where he took a hat-trick against Scotland which brought him into the limelight.
He became the second Indian other than Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the third spinner other than Imran Tahir and Ajantha Mendis to take 5-wicket hauls in all three formats. On 18 December 2019, against the West Indies, he became the first bowler for India to take two hat-tricks in international cricket. On 17 January 2020, in the second ODI against Australia, Yadav became the fastest spin bowler for India, in terms of innings, to take 100 wickets in ODI cricket, in his 58th innings.