Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has lashed out at the team management for excluding Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI in the first ODI, following India’s seven wicket defeat to Australia in Perth.
India had three all-rounders in the playing XI, including debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy alongside Washington Sundar and Axar Patel. Despite that, they managed only 136-9 off 26 overs in a game featuring multiple rain stoppages.
Following India’s defeat, Ashwin questioned the team’s playing combination, saying Kuldeep would have been useful on Australia’s big grounds.
‘Play your best bowlers’
“I can understand why they’re playing two spinners in the game along with Nitish Reddy, they want the batting depth because both Washington and Axar can bat.
Ravichandran Ashwin
But man, at least give some attention to the bowling too. On these big grounds, if Kuldeep can’t bowl with a lot of freedom, where will he bowl then? And there’s going to be extra spin which will help him get bounce as well,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin rued the team management’s focus on adding batting, insisting they should prioritise playing their best bowlers.
“They will talk about this batting depth. But if you want to build your game around batting depth, then the batters have to take responsibility, right? It’s the job of the batters to score the runs. If you’re playing an extra batter, it’s again about shielding the batters. Play your best bowlers, I’ll always say this, play your best bowlers. Don’t pick a team just to extend your batting,” he added.
Ashwin, who has claimed 156 wickets in 116 matches, also questioned the inclusion for three all-rounders in the playing XI.
“How many all-rounders do you need? You already have three all-rounders. There was a time when there were no all-rounders. You’ve got Washington, you’ve got Axar, and you’ve got Nitish. With all this, if you still can’t play your best spinner, I don’t get it at all,” he added.
Just few ODIs Down Under
Since Kuldeep’s debut in 2017, India have played six ODIs Down Under (seven if Perth ODI on Sunday is also counted), and the wily spinner has featured in two of them during the 2018-19 series, grabbing 2-54 off 10 overs in one of the games.
Kuldeep, who has 181 scalps in 113 ODIs, has been in form of the life recently. He was the tournament’s highest wicket-taker during India’s Asia Cup T20 triumph in the UAE last month (17 wickets in seven games) and claimed 12 wickets in two Tests against West Indies earlier this month.
Kuldeep Yadav in last five ODIs
2-40 vs New Zealand, Dubai
0-44 vs Australia, Dubai
2-56 vs New Zealand, Dubai
3-40 vs Pakistan, Dubai
0-43 vs Bangladesh, Dubai