Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav. Credits - BCCI

Former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar has questioned Indian team management’s decision to bench Kuldeep Yadav for the series-decider against Australia despite the unavailability of front spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja due to injuries.

With Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Jasprit Bumrah not available due to their respective injuries, India made four changes to their playing 11 in which they handed debut caps to Washington Sundar and T Natarajan.

With the Gabba renowned for its pace and bounce, India decided to go with four pacers and just one spinner, thereby ignoring Kuldeep Yadav, who ended the tour by playing just one ODI and a practice game.

Kuldeep Yadav, Ajit Agarkar
Kuldeep Yadav (Photo-NDTVSports)

Notably, Kuldeep Yadav was hailed as India’s first-choice spinner in overseas conditions by head coach Ravi Shastri following his five-wicket haul in Sydney two years ago.

Agarkar said that Kuldeep will be mighty disappointed from the fact that he was not given a chance despite the frontline spinners not being available.

“He plays overseas Test cricket and he gets five wickets, so he becomes our primary overseas spinner. Going ahead, if we have to play one spinner, he is the one we will pick,” Shastri had told Cricbuzz in January 2019. There is a time for everyone. But now Kuldeep is our frontline number one overseas spinner.”

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“Kuldeep would be very disappointed. He should be. After the last Test of the last series, he was the no.1 spinner for India and hasn’t played a Test since I think? If you are going with five bowlers which they have obviously looked at the experience and they had thought we need a little bit more cushion,” Ajit Agarkar said on Sony Sports.

Agarkar also went on to question India’s ploy of going in with four pacers, claiming that the visitors would have been better off with two spinners in their ranks along with three pacers as it would have given more variety in their attack.

“Going with five bowlers, Washington Sundar playing as an all-rounder which Jadeja was. Why not have another spinner? Gives you better balance in the attack. If the pitch flattens out and there isn’t much for the quicks then suddenly it becomes a one-dimensional attack,” Agarkar said.

“Even in that attack, there is no one like a Mitchell Starc who is out and out a quick bowler. Saini’s probably the only one who has got that little bit of extra pace. Kuldeep does provide the variety and he’s done well before in Australia. Very surprised that he is not playing and he must be very disappointed,” he added.

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