India's veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh was shocked to not find Kuldeep Yadav in the first Test's playing XI against England. Kuldeep was supposed to get into the side after India's frontline spinner Ravindra Jadeja ruled out of the series because of injury, even skipper Virat Kohli had hinted about it.

But after Akshar Patel suffered an injury before the first Test, India decided to play the left-arm off-spinner Shahbaz Nadeem. They also went ahead with Washington Sundar who has experience of only one Test match but offers something with the bat. 

Harbhajan felt India shouldn't have played two off-spinners in Chennai and it's harsh on Kuldeep to not play despite being in the squad for long. 

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"It was astonishing for me to see Kuldeep Yadav not get a chance in Team India's playing XI despite him being in the squad. I can understand that since Axar Patel is injured, Shahbaz Nadeem came in as a like-for-like replacement. But it doesn't make sense to play two off-spinners in Chennai," Harbhajan told Sports Tak.

Kuldeep wasn't given an opportunity on the Australia tour as well. There were a lot of injuries on the tour but the left-arm unorthodox spinner couldn't get a single match. Even the net bowlers were included in the playing XI. 

Harbhajan continued talking about Kuldeep and said ignoring him, again and again, could damage his confidence and the 26-year-old's presence must have added a variety in India's bowling line-up.

"Kuldeep Yadav's presence would have added a bit of variety to this Indian bowling attack. In the last two Tests that Kuldeep Yadav played, he had picked up five-wicket hauls. So I am completely baffled by his exclusion," he said.

"This is also not a great sign for his confidence because it demoralizes you even further when you are a part of the squad but still can't make it to the playing XI."

(With Sports Tak Inputs)