Kuldeep Yadav's slump in form adds to Delhi Capitals' woes in IPL 2026

Kuldeep Yadav's slump in wicket-taking form has become a huge concern for Delhi Capitals (DC), who are now in danger of losing their place in the playoffs of the ongoing IPL 2026.

The left-arm wrist spinner is enduring one of his toughest seasons in the lucrative tournament. He has only dismissed seven batters across nine innings this season and has given away 44.42 runs as the cost of every wicket. His economy rate of 10.36 sums up his struggles this season.

While Kuldeep has struggled throughout the course of the season, Delhi needed him to step up on Tuesday (May 5) when they squared off against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. On a wicket that offered a fair amount of assistance to spinners from the outset, Kuldeep couldn't let the ball do the talking.

Delhi's decision to bat first started to go horribly against them when the two CSK spinners, Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad, made the ball grip and turn off the surface. The turn caused immense trouble for the Delhi batters as they lacked Plan 'B' against spin.

Noor (2/22) and Akeal (1/19) only conceded 41 runs in seven overs at a praiseworthy economy rate of 5.85 and put the Delhi batters in a cage.

When Delhi came out to defend 155, the onus to run through CSK's batting order lay with skipper Axar Patel and Kuldeep. While Axar had a decent night as he recorded figures of 1/25 in his four overs, Kuldeep failed to make the most out of the surface that was conducive to his craft.

Kuldeep, 31, not only went wicketless, but he leaked runs at an alarming rate of 11.33 and was not even trusted to finish his quota of overs.

Axar couldn't keep his emotions in check and was candid in his admission of how much he missed his fellow spin-bowling partner.

"Even after losing five wickets, the way we finished at the end was good. So yes, that is a positive. But I feel in bowling, I missed my partner Kuldeep," said Axar during the post-match presentation.

Delhi's head coach Hemang Badani extends support to Kuldeep Yadav

Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani extended his support to Kuldeep. He feels that the left-arm wrist spinner, with all his experience, will certainly find a way through this tough time.

"They are people who have played cricket at the highest level," Badani said at the post-match presser. "Double World Cup winner. You work with them, you give them faith. They have faith in themselves in the sense that they have played the game, they have figured out the ways and means of going through the grind, ways and means of struggles and how you come back. They've done it all."