3 instances in 2022 where Kuldeep Yadav showed he's back for good 

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav turned 28 on Wednesday, December 14. Exactly a year ago, a few bad matches had looked to have cost him his spot in India's T20I, ODI, and Test teams. He was warming the bench in the IPL. On top of that, he suffered a critical knee injury, which ruled out his comeback for months.

His turnaround in 2022 was inspiring. In eight ODIs (his strongest format), Kuldeep picked up 12 wickets at an average of 27.75, down from 127.50 in 2021. He had chances in just two T20Is and was ignored for the T20 World Cup.

He was recently called back, after almost three years, to India's Test team for the Bangladesh tour, marking a full-fledged return to international cricket as one of India's most exciting bowling prospects.

As he currently plays in the first Test at Chattogram, below's a look at his three best spells of the year so far:

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3/12 vs West Indies in Florida

Kuldeep's comeback started with ODIs as he consistently put up decent outings against Sri Lanka and West Indies. This led to his call-up to the T20I series with the latter in August. He got to play in a one-off dead-rubber against Sri Lanka in February but those were the early days of his comeback and he returned wicketless.

In this series as well, he got his chance after India had already won the five-match series 3-1. It showed the team's lack of confidence in his skills in the format.

The spinner grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He got West Indian captain Nicholas Pooran lbw in his first over with a quick flipper. A major criticism during his pre-injury career was his inability to beat batters with pace. Doing just that against one of the biggest hitters of spin was as sweet as a comeback wicket gets.

The 28-year-old then got both Dominic Drakes and Odean Smith (who had hit him for a lot of runs in the ODIs) in the same over with a googly and another quicker one, winning the match for India and ending with figures of 3/12.

He spun the ball both ways, challenged the batters with loopy deliveries, and got the job done, showing great signs of his return to his pre-injury best.

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4/18 vs South Africa in Delhi

If you set the personal pressure aside, the T20I against West Indies wasn't too big a litmus test for Kuldeep. His sternest test came in the three-match ODI series against South Africa before the World Cup, where India played an almost second-string team against an almost full-strength visiting side. And he came on top.

In the third match, with the series level at 1-1, he picked up a brilliant four-wicket haul, conceding only 18 runs and helping India bundle out the Proteas for a mere 99.

He wasn't brought on until the 20th over but once again stuck in his first over, forcing Andile Phehlukwayo to play one onto his stumps for just one run. The next three wickets were classic Kuldeep - either turning the ball away or wrapping the right-handed batters on the pads, ruthlessly and consistently.

He got the last three batters out and won the Player of the Match. Cleaning the tail was a quality that was always expected of him because of his unique skills that require more practice than tailenders can afford. This match showed he'd still got it.

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4/33 vs Bangladesh in Chattogram

Most of those who watched Kuldeep bowl on Thursday thought the same thing -- Why has he played just three Tests for India over the last four years?

On a slow and low pitch, which was not the best for leg-spinners, he had the ball on a string, showing excellent control. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, the opposition's most experienced players of spin, were outdone by his dip and drift.

Some turn was available on the pitch but he priced out quick, sharp movement, which helped him get Nurul Hasan and Taijul Islam.

It was the kind of complete performance that announced "Kuldeep is back".