Former Indian batter Abhinav Mukund slammed the team management for Kuldeep Yadav’s treatment in the three-match ODI series against England, which India lost by 2-1. Kuldeep didn’t play a single game in the ODI series, which surprised a lot of experts.
The wrist spinner could not find a place in the team in the third ODI despite the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out with an knee injury.
Yadav was also not picked in the first two ODIs against England as the spin duo of Washington Sundar and Axar Patel were picked ahead of him. It is clear that the management is backing spin and seam-bowling all-rounders ahead of Yadav. Since July 2024, Kuldeep has featured in 38 games out of 103 matches across all formats for India.
India made three changes to their playing XI as KL Rahul, Prince Yadav and Arshdeep Singh were added to the team.
Kuldeep has scalped 194 ODI wickets in 121 matches at an average of 27.05 and thus has an impressive record in the 50-over format.
Abhinav Mukund said on Cricinfo, “I just believe that there should be clarity involved in terms of Kuldeep Yadav. He’s not a rookie anymore. He’s been around for a very long time and now he finds himself on the fringe in every format. He’s not the preferred spinner in Test, ODI or T20 and I think it’s about time that there is some clarity given as to what the kind of role he is going to play in this particular setup. I think it’s been a little harsh on him this entire tour.”
India could not come up with a decent bowling performance in the final game of the series and Mukund added that the Men in Blue will need to resolve their bowling woes before the World Cup.
“If India are going to continuously play this combination, I think there needs to be a conviction between captain and coach and select 15 accordingly. Because if you’re going to play with no all-rounders in the side, then the balance is a little off. Bilateral series losses happen but India need to fix this combination before 2027.”
India’s next ODI series is at home against the West Indies.
