Kuldeep Yadav was overlooked again by the Indian team management in the first match of the four-Test series against England at Chennai on Friday. The left-arm chinaman bowler did not get to feature in the playing eleven despite India going in with three spinners at Chepauk.
Indeed, it has been a real struggle for Kuldeep for the past two years starting with the 2019 ICC World Cup. Prior to the World Cup, Kuldeep and leggie Yuzvendra Chahal were India's preferred choice in white-ball cricket. One poor group game against England saw him being dropped from the World Cup team as India went down to Kiwis in the semifinals.
Even more strange has been the Uttar Pradesh player's fortunes in Test cricket. Kuldeep last played in the longer format in the 2019 Sydney Test against Australia. The crafty bowler picked up a five-for and head coach Ravi Shastri was quick to say that Kuldeep will be their first-choice spinner on tours.
Kuldeep failed to find a place in the playing eleven during India's stunning 2-1 win over Australia in the recent Test series. Even with offie R Ashwin and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja missing with injuries, the Indian think tank went for rookie Washington Sundar in the series-decider at the Gabba. Sundar grabbed the chance with both hands on his debut as his all-round show went a long way in India scoring a memorable three-wicket win.
Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun was quick to point out that Kuldeep will get his chance soon. However, even when left-arm spinner Axar Patel was ruled out of the Chennai Test with a knee injury the Indians picked Axar's replacement Shahbaz Nadeem in the eleven along with Ashwin and Sundar.
It's common knowledge that the Indian team management doesn't rate Kuldeep highly at the moment. But picking him in the squad and then sidelining him will do no good to Kuldeep's morale for sure.
