Lucknow Super Giants: 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.
