Kapil Pandey coach of Kuldeep Yadav baffled at the wrist-spinner’s repeated omission from India’s Test XI.
Kapil Pandey on the omission of Kuldeep Yadav
Prior to the start of the first Test, Kuldeep was expected to be India’s second spinner to partner R Ashwin, especially in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja. But surprisingly, he did not make it to the team even as its third spinner, with the position going to Kuldeep Yadav.
Pandey is miffed with the team management’s treatment of Kuldeep, saying given his impressive numbers, the wrist-pinner doesn’t deserve to be warming the bench.
“These players are not able to extract spin off the surface because they are just one or two Tests old, we can’t blame them. I am in coaching for the past 20 years, I have never seen players making the playing XI overnight,” Pandey told SportsKeeda in an interview.
“Kuldeep Yadav is continuously travelling with them, suffering, yet they are not giving him a chance. There goes a proverb as ‘Ghar ki murgi daal barabar’ – so you are not trying to understanding him, you are not looking at his numbers, you are treating him like a normal cricketer.”
Both Sundar and Nadeem returned unimpressive numbers with the ball. While Sundar scored a half-century in the first innings, he went wicketless in 26 overs and was given just one over in the second innings. Nadeem, on the other hand, had figures of 2/167 and 2/66. Pandey said he fails to understand the logic behind Sundar and Nadeem’s selection and not Kuldeep’s.
“In this series, the coach and captain played Washington Sundar because they felt he will partner Ravichandran Ashwin better. Only they know the reason behind this selection. Virat Kohli can dissect this logic, head coach Ravi Shastri also can explain it,” Pandey added.
“But I feel Kuldeep Yadav is a bowler who can be played in any match, and should be played in any match. Because he is someone who has 24 wickets from 6 Tests, and has never taken less than four wickets in domestic cricket.
Lastly, Pandey questioned India coach Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri on their treatment of Kuldeep, believing players except the wrist-spinner are given repeated chances to prove themselves. “If he slightly underperforms even in one match, they sideline him. On the other hand, rest of the players are given so many chances. You are including the player who is not in the team, who hasn’t got preparation. Where is the greatness of the captain and coach? The player who has been regularly practicing with the team is not getting a chance,” he said.
Kuldeep last played a Test match for India back in January of 2019, where he picked up a five-wicket-haul against Australia in Sydney, and even though he travelled with the Test squad to Australia and is currently part of the squad against England, the chinaman bowler continue to be on the sidelines.
