Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman and commentator Deep Dasgupta has expressed his surprise at the non-selection of Kuldeep Yadav in the Indian cricket team for the upcoming England tour.
Recently, BCCI announced the 20-member squad plus the 4 reserves for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and a five-match Test series against England, but Kuldeep didn’t find any place in the team.
With all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returning from the injury, Yadav was dropped from the national squad for the England tour. The wrist-spinner has played just a solitary Test match in two years against England this year since his five-wicket haul against Australia in January 2019.
However, Dasgupta admitted that Kuldeep’s performance has gone down in recent times, but he still believes that the chinaman bowler’s skill set remains very unique and full of mysteries, so the national selectors and BCCI should back the cricketer and keep investing in him.
Dasgupta told Sports Today, “With Kuldeep, I am a little surprised (not picked for England tour). Because a year ago, he was the No. 1 spinner. Within a year, he is not on the contract list. He is not there on any side. He might be there in the side for Sri Lanka. But I am a little surprised.”
He further added, “Obviously, his arc has gone down, his performances have gone down. I still believe that his skill set is very unique. And we need to keep investing in him. I understand why he is not on the side, because of his performance. I still believe he is young. He has a lot of cricket left in him and he should not be left in the lurch, let to be on his own. We must back him.”
However, Dasgupta hopes that the chinaman bowler gets picked for Team India's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka comprising of three ODIs and as many as T20Is starting July 13.
He signed off by saying, “I hope so (he gets picked for the Sri Lanka tour). On the white-ball side, obviously someone like Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, and Kuldeep... they should all be there.”
