The current Indian team management, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, has frequently sidelined Kuldeep Yadav in favor of batting depth or alternative bowling combinations.
During the Sri Lanka Test tour last month, the left-arm wrist-spinner missed the second match in Colombo after his underwhelming show in the opening fixture.
Kuldeep was part of India’s squad for the away ODI series against England in July, but warmed the bench in all three matches. He has also been sidelined from the T20I setup following a lackluster IPL 2026 season.
Despite facing selection snubs, Kuldeep has maintained a resilient and upbeat attitude. He recently achieved a historic milestone in red-ball cricket, delivering a masterful performance for Yorkshire against Essex in the County Championship.
The 31-year-old recorded match figures of 10/120 at Headingley, spinning his team to a massive victory by an innings and 106 runs. This performance earned him the County Championship Player of the Round award and secured Yorkshire's Division One safety.
After his strong display for Yorkshire, Kuldeep Yadav admitted that warming the bench throughout the five-Test tour of England last year was difficult.
“Sometimes you just have to go with the team combination or strategy, unfortunately or fortunately. Definitely, you feel bad for yourself when you’re not playing, when you’re not part of the playing XI,” Kuldeep told Neil Manthorp and former England fast bowler Steve Harmison in a talkSPORT interview.
“You want to play because when you are in the squad, you want to play, but sometimes it doesn’t happen because of whatever the management thinks. Last year, I was hoping to get a chance in a few games, but it’s okay. Maybe next time,” he added.
Kuldeep made it clear that his performance in county cricket is driven by personal enjoyment rather than a desire to prove a point to the national team management. He noted that maintaining an enjoyable mindset enables him to bowl to the best of his ability.
“Not really. It is not about proving a point here. I am just here to enjoy. It is all about enjoying. When you are enjoying, you end up bowling to the best of your ability,” Kuldeep said.
“I personally feel it’s (English county experience) very good for batters and spinners. Obviously, you will see seaming conditions here and there, but you play here to get used to the challenges you face. You’re not going to face them back home because you grew up playing there and you know the conditions pretty well,” he stated.
“So you come here and face different challenges, different conditions. Some pitches are very dry here; if you go to the south side, you’ll feel that there’s a dryness in the wicket. When you come (a) bit north, like Yorkshire, you’ll see a bit of cold,” he further remarked.
