Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been vocal in recent times about his former India teammate spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s exclusion from India’s white-ball lineup.
The 39-year-old legend took to Twitter to once again express his displeasure at the wrist-spinner not getting a place in India’s playing XI in the 3rd ODI at Lord’s despite India being forced to make three changes because of injuries.
With the IND vs ENG ODI series leveled at 1-1, India took the field in the series decider against England at Lord’s without all-rounder Washington Sundar and spearhead pacer Jasprit Bumrah as both were laid low due to injuries.
Further, Shivam Dube was dropped as India rejigged their combination: India had three all-rounders in the 2nd ODI, making it a total of six bowling options, but today, in the 3rd ODI, India fielded only one all-rounder, Axar Patel, and four bowlers – Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, and Arshdeep Singh.
Earlier, it was felt that Kuldeep would directly replace Sundar in the line-up. But with KL Rahul also set to return after recovering from illness and Bumrah being ruled out on the match day, India opted to bring in both the benched fast bowlers, Prince and Arshdeep.
This meant that even if India’s batting effectively ends at No. 7, followed by four bowlers, which has generally been the reason for Kuldeep’s omission in the past, this time, the wrist-spinner was not picked even if India needed a point-of-difference bowler in the middle overs, something that they struggled with in the previous match despite Bumrah’s presence.
This can affect the rhythm and confidence of Kuldeep Yadav: R Ashwin
After it was confirmed that Kuldeep was yet again missing from the India playing XI for the 3rd ODI despite injuries to both Sundar and Bumrah, Ashwin posted on Twitter, opining that such exclusions could be detrimental to the confidence and bowling form of the spinner.
“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 rythm and confidence of a bowler,” Ashwin tweeted.
Ashwin’s assessment of the situation is apt. Kuldeep lacked teeth and potency during the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and the following IPL 2026.
This apparently changed the views of the selectors and team management regarding Kuldeep, who has featured in only one out of 13 matches in white-ball cricket for India since the conclusion of the IPL, with the wrist-spinner being dropped from the T20I squad.
IND vs ENG Playing XIs
India: Shubman Gill (C), Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, KL Rahul (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav
England: Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (C), Adil Rashid, Jacob Bethell, Gus Atkinson, Joe Root, Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Josh Tongue
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