Ravichandran Ashwin has given a brutal verdict on Kuldeep Yadav not getting a chance in the Test series against England despite the Indian team dealing with several injury setbacks. He slammed the Indian Team management for not utilising his potential, and Ashwin even questioned the Indian Team Management’s obsession with going after batting depth.
India has faced many setbacks recently with multiple players like Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh and Akashdeep injured. Even in the fourth Test, Rishabh Pant was injured, as the ball hit his foot which eventually resulted in a toe fracture. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted that preference should be given to those who score runs in the lower order over bowlers who have genuine ability to take in a lot of wickets.
Ashwin mentioned that lower-order scoring 20-30 runs is no more an advantage in England. India requires genuine bowling strength.
“If somebody would have told me that Kuldeep Yadav will not be playing any part in the first four Tests, I would have been very very surprised. Unfortunately, it is our obsession with batting, and looking for those 20-30 extra runs. Gone are those days in England, that advantage of 20-30 runs is gone. If your No.7 makes 30 runs, and your No.8 makes 30 runs, you have extra 60 runs. Earlier that 60 runs used to be very useful, because bowlers used to get help from the pitch,” Ashwin said.
The veteran spinner also questioned why Kuldeep wasn’t given a single chance and this decision has left him completely baffled.
“If you are only planning to give Shardul Thakur this many overs, and expect 20-30 runs from him. I love Shardul Thakur, I like him a lot, but if this is the usage point, why can’t you consider Kuldeep Yadav? It is just blowing my head away. I know it seems against the grain because there are three spinners, but it is not that way, Jadeja is a specialist batter for you now. Washington Sundar is also batting well. When your bowlers can bat so well, why are you not bringing an attacking bowler?” Ashwin added.
