Kuldeep Yadav is set for a maiden county stint with Yorkshire that will see him feature in five 50-over matches in the One-Day Cup between July 24 and August 2, before he returns in September for their last three County Championship fixtures of the season.
His two-part stint will be on either side of India's two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in August, which he is likely to be a part of.
Kuldeep didn't feature in any of the ten white-ball games on the tour of Ireland and England, which concluded with the final ODI at Lord's last Sunday. India's decision to bench Kuldeep, even in the wake of an injury to spin allrounder Washington Sundar, raised eyebrows.
"I've always enjoyed the challenge of playing in English conditions and after speaking with the management, I became really excited to join up with the team," Kuldeep said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to making a positive contribution during my time at Headingley."
Kuldeep has so far been part of three England tours and has made only one solitary red-ball appearance in the country - the Lord's Test in 2018, where he bowled only nine overs.
He last featured in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June, and has overall claimed 79 wickets in 18 Tests at an average of 22.35. His ODI returns are more prolific - 194 wickets in 121 games with a best of 6 for 25. He has also been part of two T20 World Cup-winning squads.
"Kuldeep is an accomplished, international quality player who will add incredible strength to our lineup for these blocks of fixtures," said Gavin Hamilton, Yorkshire's General Manager. "Given the dry summer we've experienced, we expect spin to play an important role during the closing stages of the season. Kuldeep gives us another dimension with his left-arm wristspin and brings a wealth of experience at the highest level."
Kuldeep is the second active India spinner to feature in the championship this season. Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who debuted with a Player of the Match performance against Afghanistan in June, is currently representing Warwickshire.
When he debuts this Friday against Glamorgan, Kuldeep will also become the fifth Indian to represent Yorkshire after Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara and Mayank Agarwal. Ruturaj Gaikwad had signed for Yorkshire in 2025 but pulled out for personal reasons.