Mohammad Kaif, a former India batter, urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to query team management about Kuldeep Yadav's exclusion in recent England ODIs during the upcoming review meeting.
Following India's poor performances in Ireland and England, the BCCI plans to conduct a thorough assessment.
With India lacking Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar for the final game, the 31-year-old wrist-spinner was still not included in the XI. England scored a massive 387 runs, leaving the visitors with no attacking options.
"In the review meeting that will happen, the BCCI must raise the question behind the selection of this playing XI and ask the reason. They must ask why Kuldeep did not play when Bumrah, Sundar, Varun, all these guys were not there. England won due to Buttler's 40 at the end, and Kuldeep has gotten the better of him before. Kuldeep has bowled well in England too.
They must ask the reason. You give the reason of batting depth. Fine. But in that game, your all-rounder at number eight was injured and out. Even then, Kuldeep did not play. It was completely beyond my understanding. You played all inexperienced bowlers," Kaif said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Kaif further stated that the bowling attack will be a major concern for the Indian team on the road to the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. He thought that instead of discussing the future of veterans like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the squad should concentrate on the actual problems. He also voiced concerns about the present bowling unit and questioned Mohammed Siraj's absence.
"The biggest issue is in the bowling. Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli is not a concern. The biggest concern is the bowling in South Africa. Pitches are very different there. Batters will get out at times, and we will only score 250. But do we have the bowling to defend that? This is the biggest question. To win the World Cup, you need a balanced team. Not batting heavy and weak bowling.
You will have to defend 250, and right now you don't have the team for that. You are moving on, but there is no backup for Bumrah, no backup for Hardik. You don't have quality bowlers like Shami and Bhuvneshwar. I don't know why Siraj is also out when all the new guys are being backed," Kaif added.
Furthermore, Kaif highlighted how major players suffering injuries is a huge concern for the Indian team. Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy, two pace-bowling all-rounders, have been out of action due to injuries. Even pacer Jasprit Bumrah missed the final ODI against England due to a knee injury, while Washington Sundar has been out due to a hamstring injury.
"If Bumrah is not there, you are exposed. The young bowlers will work around him. He pushes teams back, and those bowling with him benefit. But we are too far behind without him. Injury concern is a big thing for us that we don't even talk much about. We are only stuck at Rohit-Virat. The fielding and fitness are bigger issues. Gill has gone out so many times. The youngsters who are the future are breaking down. You need to work on the fitness seriously," he said.
“Harshit Rana came back and got injured again. Who is asking questions or asking reasons? The guy you want to send out is playing, but those who are coming in are getting injured. This is a big problem for Gill. He has a great team in the IPL. But the same thing has to be replicated here. Forget Rohit, focus on the bigger problems," Mohammad Kaif added.
Prince Yadav, a young pacer, was the latest addition to the injury list after being ruled out of the final T20I against Zimbabwe with a hamstring injury.
