Why Kuldeep Yadav Is Not Playing: Ever since Kuldeep Yadav made a stunning debut in the Test match against Australia, his mesmerising wrist spin ensured that he had the undivided attention of cricket fans around the globe. His performance only got better with time. In January 2019, he took another 5-wicket haul against Australia in Sydney, much to the delight of Indian fans who had found a prodigious left arm wrist spinner.
Unfortunately, his performance declined and he did not receive the same level of support from the management as KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. This result was obvious and he got excluded from the Indian team for 22 months. After returning to the squad Kuldeep Yadav played a crucial role in India’s victory in the first Test against Bangladesh, which ended in a resounding 188-run victory for the visitors.
The Indian spinner took five wickets in the second innings and three wickets in the fourth. Kuldeep not only bowled well, but also made a valuable contribution with the bat. He scored 40 runs in the lower order, helping India reach a strong total of 404 in the first innings.
He was instrumental in helping India secure the win. His performance earned him the Man of the Match award. Kuldeep’s bowling was a major factor in limiting the Bangladeshi batsmen to just 149 runs in their first innings. His efforts ensured that India completed an emphatic victory. But he was unfairly rewarded for his efforts. Here we will discuss about Why Kuldeep Yadav Is Not Playing?
Reward for his tough grind
Despite performing exceptionally well even after an absence of 22 months from the team, Kuldeep Yadav was not selected for India’s playing XI for the second Test match against Bangladesh. Instead, the management chose fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat for the line-up.
Everyone watched how Bangladeshi batters looked like cats on a hot tin roof against his bowling in the 1st Test. However, during the toss, K.L Rahul expressed regret at having for leaving Kuldeep out of the team and said it is an opportunity for Unadkat who returned to the team after a 12 years hiatus. He said it was an unfortunate decision but the team had made one change.
No questions were raised regarding Unadkat’s selection as he had been performing consistently in domestic cricket. However, there were other spinner who could have been dropped. But ultimately, the BCCI management decided to drop Kuldeep. The decision to drop a player who has performed reasonably well after returning to the team after two years is bound to have a detrimental effect on their belief.
BCCI has a history of releasing players from the team when they were at the peak of their performance, only to reintegrate them back into the squad a few years later like Deepak Huda, Yuzi Chahal, Sanju Samson and others. Unfortunately, these players often struggled to reach the same level of performance as before due to a lack of confidence and uncertainty about the selection process.
Also Read: India might lose Sanju Samson to Ireland and BCCI is to blame for it
It’s tough to be Kuldeep Yadav
Many cricket fans expressed their dissatisfaction with the choice to exclude Kuldeep from the playing XI. Even former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar expressed his anger over KL Rahul and coach Rahul Dravid.
While talking to the Sony Sports Network, he said “Dropping a Man of the Match, that is unbelievable. That’s the only word I can use and it’s a gentle word. I would like to use quite stronger words, but it’s unbelievable that you left out a man of the match, who got eight out of the 20 wickets.”
Many other cricketing giants took social media platforms and left no opportunity to blast the management for their meaningless and ilogical move.
Story of Kuldeep Yadav: Player of the match in first Test but no place in second Test, feel for him especially after returning to the team after 22 months.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 22, 2022
Kuldeep benched for the 2nd Test 🤷♂️
Yeah…a little bit of grass on the surface but it’s Dhaka. I mean.
Happy for Unadkat though…inspirational story of ‘never give up’. Red ball has given him another chance. Wish you well, bro 🤗 #BanvInd— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 22, 2022
Feel for Kuldeep Yadav. Took 8 wickets and scored the crucial 40 runs with the Man Of The Match award, but sits out in the very next match.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 22, 2022
If only Kuldeep had done a little better in the 1st test.
Player of the Match isn’t enough I guess 🤷🏻♂️#BANvIND— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) December 22, 2022
A player who had been away from the game for a couple of years, performed admirably with both bat and ball, yet still failed to make the cut for the team. Such a development can be understandably disheartening for the player, but should be seen as a learning experience that can help him grow stronger.
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