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Cricket Players‘But he’s fallen away over’: Dravid names one player ‘who could have merited selection’ for India’s tour of England
BCCI announced a strong 20-member squad for India's four-month tour of England where they play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand on June 18, before facing the hosts in a five-Test series.
India picked their squad for the tour of England which starts next month. BCCI announced a strong 20-member squad for India's four-month tour of England where they play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand on June 18, before facing the hosts in a five-Test series.
It marked the return of star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and batsman Hanuma Vihari, who, due to their respective injuries had to miss the four-Test series against England at home. Kuldeep Yadav was left out from the squad and it continued his downward trajectory since the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
The selection and non-selection of Kuldeep has been a hot topic in cricketing circles for the past year. The left-arm unorthodox spinner was a regular member of India's limited-overs side before the 2019 Cricket World Cup and was one of the highest wicket-taking bowlers during that period. Kuldeep even earned a Test call-up and has two 5 -wicket hauls in the 7 matches he has played for India. But he has lost form and confidence and has lost his place in Team India and also is on the fringes for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Former India skipper Rahul Dravid also talked about Kuldeep's snub while commenting on India's 'balanced' squad for tour of England.
“It does seem balanced. It’s a 20-member squad. The only other one who could have merited selection would’ve been Kuldeep Yadav, but he’s fallen away over the last little bit. Also, with the kind of recent performances from Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, they’re clear about the kind of balance they want in the squad,” Dravid said during a webinar organised by Live Aid India, as reported by ESPN Cricinfo.
“With both Ashwin and Jadeja adding value with the bat and having like-for-like replacements in Axar and Washy, they’re clear about the direction they want to take. It lengthens their batting and all four finger spinners here allow them to do that. The make-up of the squad tells me they know their best XI even before they leave from here.”
Kuldeep has played 7 Test matches for India and has picked up 26 wickets at an average of 23.85.
