'It happened to me also': Umesh Yadav's revelation on India's decision to drop Kuldeep Yadav
Umesh, who picked up four wickets with the ball and was one of India's pick of the bowlers after Bangladesh opted to bat first, said the same thing has happened to him in the past and it is tough but as an international cricketer, one has to keep the interests of the team at the forefront.
Umesh Yadav said dropping spinner Kuldeep Yadav despite a Player of the Match performance in the first Test was a call taken by the team management based on the nature of the surface. India decided to pick left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat in place of Kuldeep for the second Test match against Bangladesh in Mirpur, a decision which drew sharp criticism from all quarters. India's stand-in captain KL Rahul too hinted at the toss that it was support staff and the seniors in the team who believed the moisture in the wicket would assist the fast bowlers more than an extra spinner.
Umesh, who picked up four wickets with the ball and was one of India's pick of the bowlers after Bangladesh opted to bat first, said the same thing has happened to him in the past and it is tough but as an international cricketer, one has to keep the interests of the team at the forefront.
"This is a team call and management call. Sometimes you have to go with the team requirements. It's part of your journey. It has happened to me also. Sometimes you are out of the team because of performance and sometimes it's a management's call. You have to go with the team's requirements," Umesh told reporters after the end of first day's play.
Kuldeep picked up 8 wickets in India's 188-run win in Chattogram on his return to Test cricket after 22 months. "It's good for him (Kuldeep) that he came back and performed well (in the first Test in Chattogram)," Yadav said.
The experienced right-arm pacer returned with figures of 15-4-25-4, while veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also grabbed four wickets (21.5-3-71-4) to bowl Bangladesh out for a paltry 227. In reply, India were 19 for no loss at the stumps on day one.
Left-arm pacer Unadkat, who was playing the Test after more than a decade, justified his inclusion by giving the first breakthrough, dismissing last-match centurion Zakir Hasan with a delivery that came back into the southpaw.
"It is a 50-50 kind of wicket for both pacers and spinners. You have to be patient and keep hitting the right areas. When I started bowling the odd ball was keeping low from the length but if you try and bowl full, it is not swinging. Ashwin came in and bowled with the new ball. Some of his balls turned but after the ball got old it stopped turning," he said.
