Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players‘You want your match-winner in bench? What are you up to?’: Ex-pacer blasts India for ‘senseless’ axing of Kuldeep Yadav
Former India pacer Dodda Ganesh, wondered why such treatment was being meted out to Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist spinner was dropped from the second Test vs Bangladesh despite picking eight wickets in the first.
Former India cricketers did not take Kuldeep Yadav's axing from the second Test match against Bangladesh in Mirpur lightly. It started with the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who said it was ‘unbelievable’ to see the Player of the Match of the last Test not finding a place in the Indian XI for the next Test and then the likes of Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Dodda Ganesh, Aakash Chopra and Anjum Chopra joined in.
India decided to pick left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat in place Kuldeep for the last match of the tour, expecting the pitch to offer more assistance to the seamers in the first couple of days. His decision wasn't wrong, at least going by India's performance on Day 1. The visitors bowled out Bangladesh for 227 with six wickets being picked up by the seamers - two by Unadkat and four by Umesh Yadav.
Former India pacer Dodda Ganesh, wondered why such treatment was being meted out to Kuldeep. "Why does this happen so often to Kuldeep Yadav? You can't be doing this to him again and again. Please some one put an arm around his shoulder and tell him not to lose heart. Yes. It's tough being Kuldeep Yadav. Spare a thought for him," said Ganesh, who played four Tests, on social media.
Kuldeep picked eight wickets - five in the first innings and three in the second - in the first Test. Ganesh said the left-arm wrist spinner gave a lot of trouble to the Bangladesh batters who struggled to pick him. "Also the way the Bangladeshis struggled to pick him in the last Test makes this decision to leave him out today even more senseless and defies cricketing logic. You want your match-winner to warm the benches?" he questioned.
"I guess the think tank needs to be a bit more considerate while dealing with the youngsters who've done well; and tinker the team combo accordingly. Last time they dropped Karun (Nair) after his 303 not out to play an extra seamer at Hyderabad. And now this, with Kuldeep Yadav. Shocking. Ridiculous," he added.
Kuldeep had also contributed with the bat in the match, scoring 40 runs in the first innings. He had been included in India's squad for the third One-day International against Bangladesh after fast bowlers Kuldeep Sen and Deepak Chahar had been ruled out due to injuries.
Former India women's team captain Chopra termed Kuldeep's exclusion "strange".
"Man of the match in India's last Test victory just 3 days ago, Kuldeep Yadav makes way for Jaydev Unadkat as a third seamer for India. Strange but a tactical change," wrote Anjum on social media.
