Kuldeep Yadav once again failed to make it to the playing eleven of the Test team as India decided to play the ongoing first Test against England without the left-arm spinner. The hosts have included as many as three spinners in their lineup but there was no place for Kuldeep Yadav.
There were speculations that India would choose the Uttar Pradesh star over Axar Patel. However, the team-management has decided to show faith in Axar. Axar was the second highest wicket-taker in the series when England visited India in 2021/22 season. In just 3 Tests, he had picked up a staggering 27 wickets to help India bounce back from defeat in the first game and win the series.
Speaking at toss, captain Rohit Sharma explained the reason behind not including Kuldeep Yadav. The India captain stated that Axar was picked because of his batting abilities. India are already without Virat Kohli for the game and it could have played a key role in their decision to add more batting depth.
“We’ve got three spinners and two seamers – Bumrah, Siraj, Axar, Ashwin and Jadeja. It was a tough one (to leave out Kuldeep Yadav), we thought a lot about it. Axar, whenever he had played, he has done well and bats really well in these conditions. He got some really good score the last time we played against Australia. Probably the reason we went with Axar,” said Rohit Sharma.
Fans disappointed over Kuldeep Yadav treatment:
The Indian team-management’s decision to not include Kuldeep Yadav in the playing eleven has not gone down well with many. As soon as Rohit announced the news, several fans took to X to express their disappointment. Here are some of the reactions:
Kuldeep Yadav 💔 #INDvsENG #CricketTwitter
— rᥲȷі𝗍🇮🇳 (@imrajitd) January 25, 2024
India is playing with 3 off spinners Jadeja,Axar & Ashwin but they would not play 1 proper leg spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Weird selection always#INDvsENG #TestCricket #BenStokes
— CricNation.TV (@CricNation_TV) January 25, 2024
Would have preferred Kuldeep as the third spinner. Instead of Jadeja, perhaps. #IndiavsEngland #INDvsENG #CricketTwitter
— Rajesh Abraham🇮🇳 (@pendown) January 25, 2024
Hard on Kuldeep the spinner to be dropped, because he cannot bat! #INDvsENG
— Rohan Deshmukh 🇮🇳 (@ItsDeshmukh) January 25, 2024
https://twitter.com/daddydgea/status/1750361738615341315
The latest snub means Kuldeep Yadav has not played a Test for more than a year now. His last Test appearance came in Bangladesh in December 2022. Incidentally, he won the Man of the Match award in that game before being dropped from the playing eleven straightaway.
India Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj