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The India National Cricket Team has entirely overlooked Kuldeep Yadav on the recent UK tour. The left-arm wrist spinner did not get a single chance either in Ireland or England, leaving many former cricketers, including Ravichandran Ashwin, surprised and disappointed.
The former Indian spinner believes that keeping a quality spinner like Kuldeep out of the team again and again can hurt his confidence and make him feel that the team management no longer trusts him.
He feels this treatment must have forced Kuldeep to think about his future in India. Amid this, Ravichandran Ashwin explains what made Rahul Dravid special as Gautam Gambhir remains under pressure.
Ravichandran Ashwin stunned as India completely ignores Kuldeep Yadav on UK tour
Kuldeep was once again left out of the playing XI for the third and final ODI at Lord's on July 19. His omission raised more questions because India was already without two important bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah missed the match because of a knee injury, while Washington Sundar was ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury.
Yet, the Indian team management decided to go with four fast bowlers and only one specialist spinner, Axar Patel. Kuldeep remained on the bench throughout the UK tour. Reacting to the move, Ashwin said it is becoming very difficult to understand the thinking behind Kuldeep's repeated snub.
He pointed out that the left-arm spinner has already proved himself by taking 194 wickets in 121 T20Is and 95 wickets in 54 ODIs. The former Indian off-spinner said that Kuldeep is even better than Australia's star wrist-spinner Adam Zampa and deserves even more respect and regular chances.
Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel: “Kuldeep Yadav is better than Adam Zampa. We consider Adam Zampa to be one of the best wrist spinners. But I feel Kuldeep is better than Adam Zampa. He should have been played in England.”
Ravichandran Ashwin slams Kuldeep Yadav snub, questions Team India's trust in spinner
Ashwin also addressed the narrative that Kuldeep misses out because he is not a strong batter. He agreed that the team management wants batting depth and often prefers an all-rounder at number eight, but he felt that this reason did not make sense in the Lord's ODI.
He pointed out that India did not go with the extra batter, and with Sundar and Bumrah already unavailable, Ashwin felt Kuldeep should have been included to strengthen the bowling attack instead of adding another pace option for the series decider against England. Amid this, Jasprit Bumrah comeback date: When will India pacer return after knee injury?
Ashwin warned that such repeated snubs can seriously affect the spinner’s confidence. The cricket pundit added, “It hit Kuldeep Yadav's confidence. This shows that the Indian team management does not have any confidence in him. Then what is going on? When will we get a chance? Will he come back in the T20 set-up? He was not there in the previous one.”
Ravichandran Ashwin raises big question over Kuldeep Yadav's future before Sri Lanka Tests
The former Indian all-rounder also questioned Kuldeep's future across formats. He pointed out that Kuldeep keeps moving in and out of the playing XI without getting a fixed role. With India set to tour Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series, Ashwin wondered whether the selectors would again choose a finger spinner ahead of Kuldeep.
Ashwin reminded everyone that Kuldeep performed brilliantly even when he and Ravindra Jadeja were struggling. Now, he believes that Kuldeep should be leading the spin attack instead of sitting outside the playing XI.
He signed off by saying, “In Sri Lanka, will they prefer a finger spinner? Or will they go with Kuldeep Yadav? If they are not confident, what is the point of Kuldeep continuing? What is the direction forward for Kuldeep Yadav? This is a case that is very bizarre. I am not saying that Kuldeep Yadav will win. But yesterday, it was a big setback for Kuldeep Yadav.”
