Gautam Gambhir’s plan to mentally disturb Kuldeep Yadav exposed by India legend
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Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has once again been under the radar for having snubbed Kuldeep Yadav from the Indian playing XI. Former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has slammed the coach's obsession with all-rounders.
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav played for India in the ICC Champions Trophy final against New Zealand but has been snubbed since then. Kuldeep was left out of the playing XI for the ODI series opener against Australia in Perth.
Ravichandran Ashwin urges Gautam Gambhir to rethink his ways of team selection
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin has once again taken a dig at Indian coach Gautam Gambhir. He has urged the Indian coach to reconsider his approach of selecting players and to keep out his bias of having maximum all-rounders in the team.
These remarks were made after Ashwin found no logic behind the snub of Kuldeep Yadav, who had performed stunningly for India across formats.
“I can understand why there are two spinners playing in the team, along with Nitish Reddy. They want that batting depth, because Axar and Washington can bat, but bowling ke upar bhi thoda dhayan dedo yaar (concentrate on bowling as well). In these big grounds, if Kuldeep can't bowl with a lot of freedom, then where will he play? And there will be overspin, which will get him more bounce,” he said.
Ravichandran Ashwin criticized Kuldeep Yadav's snub
Ashwin clearly looked frustrated that he could not understand Gautam Gambhir's excessive obsession with batting depth. He stressed that Kuldeep Yadav, being one of India's best bowlers, should have been in the team, especially after he picked 17 wickets in the Asia Cup and 12 more in the red-ball series against the West Indies.
“See, I understand that they will talk about this batting depth, but if that is going to help you win games, then batters should be able to take the responsibility. If they are playing extra batters, then they are again shielding the batting lineup," he said.
"I will always say, play your best bowlers. Don't pick a player only because you want to extend your batting. Kitne all-rounders chaiye aapoko (How many all-rounders do you want)? You already have three already. Even after having Nitish in the side, if you can't play your best bowlers, then I can't get it at all,” Ashwin looked disgusted by the over-obsession with all-rounders.
Ashwin stresses on Kuldeep Yadav's mental struggle
R Ashwin finally warned Gautam Gambhir that the denial of Kuldeep Yadav a spot in the playing XI would lead to questioning his value within the side. He has further stressed that this would crush his mentality and lead to mental struggle.
“I feel when a player gets dropped, he or she questions themselves: “Am I the reason the team will lose?” Kuldeep might have the same question in mind. If, after such good performances, he gets dropped and someone else gets a chance, he might be thinking he is the problem in the team," said Ravichandran Ashwin.
"Whether he is or not is different, but this very thing causes a lot of debate within. It can be very crushing, and not many players can handle it. Keep direct communication with him,” he added.
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