India Made A Mistake By Dropping Kuldeep Yadav: Sourav Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly criticised Team India’s decision to drop Kuldeep Yadav from the playing eleven for the third and final T20I against England on Sunday.

Kuldeep was the standout performer for India in the first T20I. The chinaman spinner had taken a career-best 5 for 24, including three in an over, to derail England’s innings. The hosts were comfortably placed at 95 for 1 in the 12th over before Kuldeep began his demolition job. As a result, England lost their next four wickets for just 12 runs to found themselves reeling at 107 for 5. They eventually managed to post a modest 159 for 8.

Kuldeep got off the mark by dismissing Alex Hales in his second over. But it was Kuldeep’s following over that really did the damage. Eoin Morgan (7) holed out to the first ball before  Jonny Bairstow (0) and Joe Root (0) were both completely bamboozled as they played forward and were stumped. Kuldeep went on to complete his maiden 5-wicket haul by taking the huge wicket of Jos Buttler.

He, however, failed to replicate that performance in the second game, going wicketless for 34 runs. And the team-management decided to drop him for the series-decider, much to everyone’s surprise.

Ganguly was also one of those who were surprised by the decision as he felt that England would not have managed 198 in Kuldeep’s presence.

“I think India made a mistake by dropping Kuldeep Yadav. You can’t drop him from this team. He took five wickets in Manchester. India must have won the match but I feel if Kuldeep was there, England would not have reached 198. I was a bit surprised by the decision to drop him,” Ganguly told IndiaTV.

Kuldeep’s absence, however, did not affect India much as they thrashed the hosts by 7 wickets to win the series.

Ganguly further said that “Yo-Yo” Test has helped the Indian players to improve their strength under pressure situations.

“As I told you before that Yo-Yo Test is not a yardstick for cricketers but it does provide the strength to the team. This can sometimes make a difference in winning and losing. I feel the way this team has proven its strength under pressure, it shows their mental preparedness,” he said.

Both the teams will not take on each other in the three-match ODI series, starting July 12.