Kuldeep Yadav’s continued absence from India’s playing XI during the ODI series against England has drawn strong criticism from former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. After Kuldeep was left out of the third and final ODI at Lord’s, Ashwin said the decision suggested the team management had little or no faith in the left-arm wrist-spinner.
Kuldeep Yadav did not feature in any of the three ODIs against England. The general view had been that head coach Gautam Gambhir preferred extra batting depth, making it difficult to include a specialist spinner without a pace-bowling all-rounder like Hardik Pandya or Nitish Reddy, both of whom are currently injured.
However, in the third ODI, India moved away from that strategy by picking four specialist fast bowlers despite the absence of Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah. The pace attack struggled, especially during the middle overs, as England posted 388. India eventually lost the match by 27 runs and the series 2-1.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said Kuldeep Yadav should have returned home instead of remaining with the squad if he was not going to be considered for selection. Echoing a similar view earlier expressed by Mohammad Kaif, Ashwin questioned the purpose of keeping Kuldeep in the squad when he was not getting opportunities. He also described Kuldeep as the best wrist-spinner in world cricket and felt the treatment was unfair.
Ashwin admitted that he had earlier believed Kuldeep Yadav should stay with the team and work on improving his batting. However, after the Lord’s match, his opinion changed. He argued that India had already reduced their batting depth by strengthening the bowling attack, yet Kuldeep was still overlooked despite Bumrah’s absence. According to Ashwin, that indicated the team management had almost no confidence in Kuldeep’s abilities.
After the series, captain Shubman Gill explained that the team believed the Lord’s pitch would not offer much assistance to spinners. However, England’s Adil Rashid and part-time spinner Jacob Bethell both picked up a wicket, raising further questions over India’s selection strategy.
Ashwin also reflected on Kuldeep Yadav’s journey, pointing out that the spinner had been regarded as India’s leading spinner in Test cricket in recent years but is now struggling for opportunities across formats. He questioned what the future holds for Kuldeep if he continues to remain on the sidelines.
While Ashwin acknowledged that every team management has its own preferred players, he said Kuldeep Yadav’s omission at Lord’s was difficult to understand. He clarified that he was not claiming Kuldeep’s inclusion would have guaranteed India a win, but believed being ignored in a match where India prioritised bowling over batting would have been a major disappointment for the spinner.
It’s sad but we feel that R Ashwin is completely correct, what do you say?
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