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Former Team India cricketer Mohammad Kaif suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ask the team management why did keep Kuldeep Yadav on the bench throughout the ODI series against England when some of their top talents were out of action because of injury reasons.
BCCI is all set to hold a review meeting following India's poor run in Ireland and England, where they lost a couple of T20I series and then an ODI series before heading to Zimbabwe for another T20I series. India suffered three back-to-back series defeats across the white-ball formats during their UK tour.
BCCI to arrange a review meeting after the setbacks agains Ireland and England
As reported earlier, the board is all set to hold a review meeting with the team management ahead of the ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to be held next year in South Africa. In the lead-up to the 2027 ODI World Cup, the 50-overs series against England was crucial for the team's preparations.
More than the batting part, for Mohammad Kaif, it was the team's bowling combination that let the Men in Blue down under in front of the Three Lions. Kuldeep Yadav was with the team but did not get a single match to showcase his skills under the overseas conditions.
Why did Kuldeep Yadav remain on the bench? Mohammad Kaif raises the question
Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, and Washington Sundar, four key bowlers, were sidelined because of injuries; still, there was no sign of Kuldeep in the playing eleven.
"In the review meeting that will happen, the BCCI must raise the question behind the selection of this playing XI and ask the reason. They must ask why Kuldeep did not play when Bumrah, Sundar, Varun, all these guys were not there," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
In the third ODI, which was the 3-match series decider, India went close to chasing down the massive target of 388, but fell short by 27 runs only. Kaif reckoned that Jos Buttler's explosive 41-run knock off 13 balls made the difference between the two teams in that match.
Mohammad Kaif points out Kuldeep Yadav's success rate against Jos Buttler
The former cricketer pointed out that the scenario could be different if Kuldeep Yadav was on the ground, who had prior experience in England and had a decent record against Buttler.
According to stats, Jos Buttler has scored 87 runs against the India spinner with a strike rate of 138.09 and an average of 29, losing wickets on three occasions.
"England won due to Buttler's 40 at the end, and Kuldeep has gotten the better of him before. Kuldeep has bowled well in England too. They must ask the reason. You give the reason of batting depth. Fine."
"But in that game, your all-rounder at number eight was injured and out. Even then, Kuldeep did not play. It was completely beyond my understanding," Kaif continued in the YouTube video.
