Kuldeep Yadav and KL Rahul
Kuldeep Yadav and KL Rahul (PC-Getty Images)

The stand-in India National Cricket Team captain KL Rahul has revealed the real reason behind the decision to drop the left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI for the second Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh National Cricket Team at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

Playing Test cricket for India after 22 long months, Kuldeep Yadav delivered an amazing all-round performance in the first Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.

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Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav (PC-Getty Images)

He took a 5-wicket haul (5/40) in the first innings and a 3-wicket haul (3/73) in the second innings. Also, with the bat in the first innings, Kuldeep Yadav scored 40 runs and had a brilliant 87-run partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin.

However, Kuldeep Yadav, who won the Player of the Match award in the first Test, was dropped from the team for the second Test. He was replaced by left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat in the playing XI. Notably, Jaydev Unadkat, who made his Test debut in 2010, got the opportunity to play Test cricket for India after 12 years.

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I don’t regret the decision – KL Rahul

KL Rahul
KL Rahul (Image Credits: Twitter)

Speaking at a press conference after winning the Test series by 2-0 over Bangladesh, Rahul said that they definitely missed the services of Kuldeep in the Mirpur Test and added that he would have brought Kuldeep back into the playing XI in the second innings, had there been the Impact Player rule in Test cricket.

The 30-year-old further said that they made the decision to drop Kuldeep after properly assessing the pitch on Day 1 where they felt that there was assistance for both spinners and pacers. KL Rahul also said that they wanted to field the “best-balanced team” and he doesn’t regret the decision.

“Ideally, the impact player rule that has been introduced in IPL, had that been in Test matches as well, I would have definitely brought back Kuldeep Yadav in the second innings. It was a tough call given that in the last match he won us the game against Bangladesh. He was the Man of the Match.

“But what we felt after seeing the pitch the first day, we thought there would be assistance for both fast bowlers and spinners and with that, we wanted to play the best-balanced team possible. That is a call we made and I don’t regret the decision. If you notice, the fast bowlers took a lot of wickets. There was assistance for the fast bowlers and a lot of inconsistent bounce. And we took this decision from our experience of playing in the one-days,” he explained.

Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav. Image Credits: Twitter

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Sonanchal Gautam is the Assistant Content Manager at Cricketaddictor. He is a professional Wrestling and Hip-hop enthusiast.