Ravichandran Ashwin blasts India’s decision to drop Kuldeep Yadav© Getty
Former India spinner R Ashwin minced no words as he questioned the team management’s decision to drop spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the playing eleven as India lost the fourth T20I against West Indies, with the result seeing the series drawing level 2-2 after the first four matches. Expressing his confusion over the management’s decision to drop Kuldeep, despite the fact that the chinaman spinner was doing so well against the men from the Caribbean nation, Ashwin said that the the call lacked common sense. Kuldeep played the first two matches in Lucknow and Ranchi before being left out for the next two games in Indore and Hyderabad. The left-arm wrist spinner returned figures of 2 for 33 in the opening match but conceded 53 runs in the Ranchi match, which India lost.
India’s bowling struggles continued in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad, where the West Indies scored 247 for 3 and went on to win by 24 runs after dismissing India for 223.
“It is very surprising because, on a ground where you expect to get some bounce, I know it has not always been a happy hunting ground for spinners. But the West Indies batters are struggling to pick his (Kuldeep) googly and leg-spin. So, if you are leaving Kuldeep out against them, it lacks a bit of common sense. It is very surprising because I think his presence could have made a difference of 15-20 runs,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“I was surprised. Kuldeep was not picked in Indore, and I would still endorse that decision because I can understand that the ground is small. But you are almost making an issue out of it by suggesting that India’s loss in Ranchi was because of Kuldeep. That, in itself, is wrong,” he added.
Kuldeep had been India’s leading wicket-taker in the ODI series against the West Indies earlier this month, claiming seven wickets in three matches.
The five-match T20I series is locked at 2-2, with the decider set to be played in Bengaluru.
With PTI Inputs
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