London, July 19, 2026
Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday questioned the team management’s decision to repeatedly bench premier left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, warning that such frequent exclusions could severely damage a bowler’s confidence.
In the absence of injured pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar being ruled out due to hamstring injury, Kuldeep was still overlooked for Sunday’s ongoing ODI series decider at Lord’s. It meant that India are playing four pacers and a lone spinner in left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel, with no sixth bowling option in their line-up.
“The only defense for not playing Kuldeep usually is that the batting finishes at number 7, wonder how it feels to have Arshdeep at number 8 today! Adding Bumrah’s absence to that, one can only feel bad for Kuldeep. Trust me, this can affect the rhythm and confidence of a bowler,” Ashwin stated on his ‘X’ account on Sunday.
Kuldeep has now sat out three of India’s all ODIs in England after being rested from the T20I leg of the tour. Even during the preceding home ODI series against Afghanistan, Kuldeep featured in just one game, returning figures of 0-42 in Lucknow.
The Indian team management has usually preferred Axar and Washington as they bolster batting depth. While Axar and Washington have justified their selection with all-round performances, Kuldeep’s primary skill continues to be overlooked due to his lower-order batting limitations.
The left-arm wrist-spinner has endured a tough run lately after having a challenging IPL 2026 campaign for Delhi Capitals. Post the tournament’s end, Kuldeep made a switch to Lucknow Super Giants via a trade deal which saw Rishabh Pant moving back to Delhi Capitals. While Kuldeep boasts an incredibly impressive career record of 194 wickets in 121 ODIs, his continuous non-selection still leaves many people curious.(Agency)
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