'Why no wrist-spinner in team': Aakash Chopra says Kuldeep Yadav's exclusion from India Test squad is 'little harsh'

But despite his recent struggles, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that not including Kuldeep Yadav in the Test squad was 'little harsh'.

The BCCI announced the squad for the upcoming WTC Final against Zealand and the five-match Test series against England and as many expected, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav was not included in it. Kuldeep has found himself on the sidelines since India's Australia tour, where he did not get to play a single Test despite several senior players getting injured.

Aakash Chopra on Kuldeep Yadav. (File)

Kuldeep also played only one Test against England, in which he struggled to get wickets. The chinaman also did not feature in Kolkata Knight Riders' playing XI in the Indian Premier League 2021 season before the tournament was suspended, signalling that the writing may be on the wall for the left-armer.

But despite his recent struggles, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that not including him was a harsh call.

"Personally, even Kuldeep Yadav's exclusion is a little harsh. He has not played too much cricket, so to make the formal opinion that he does not make the cut, I feel that he is a little hard done by," Chopra said during a discussion on ESPNCricinfo.

"He bowled only one Test against England, on a raging turner. Picked up a couple of wickets at the end. Did not play the pink-ball Test. Now he is not playing the entire series," he added.

"Not just the WTC final, but also the five-match Test series against England. In Covid times, you have the luxury of playing larger squads, so why not Kuldeep Yadav," he further said.

"You get as many as four-spin bowling options - Ashwin, Jadeja, Sundar, and Axar Patel - but all of them are finger-spinners. So, why not a wrist-spinner against a side that tends to struggle against them," he signed off.