Former Indian wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta reckons Kuldeep Yadav would have been given a break from bowling in training session ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Dasgupta believes Yadav would have been a bit tired after bowling consistently during his County stint with Yorkshire.

Surprisingly, Yadav had a long batting session when Indian players trained together ahead of the warm-up match. 

Meanwhile, Kuldeep was part of the ODI team against England but didn’t even get a single game against the hosts. The wrist was not included in the third ODI despite the absence of gun fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Since July 2024, Kuldeep has featured in 38 games out of 103 matches across all formats for India. 

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. But Yadav has played only 18 Test matches for India despite making his debut back in 2017.

“He has come in after playing some 50-over cricket in the county. He played a few matches for Yorkshire, so he has played a lot of matches in a short span. So, he has bowled a lot and he has done well too. He must be a bit tired, so that is why he is being given a break, I think. We all know how important the batting contribution will be when he bats at either No.8 or No.9. So, he might not bowl for a while, but I am sure he will bowl soon,” Deep Dasgupta said on his YouTube channel.

India has four spinners in the squad for Sri Lanka Tests – Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Saransh Jain, and Manav Suthar.

India will take on Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series, starting August 15.