Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir is once again under attack for dropping Kuldeep Yadav from the Indian playing eleven. Former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has criticized the coach’s obsession with all-rounders.
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav played for India in the ICC Champions Trophy final against New Zealand, but has since been overlooked. Kuldeep was left out of the playing eleven in the opening match of the ODI series against Australia in Perth.
Ravichandran Ashwin urges Gautam Gambhir to rethink his team selection methods
While talking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin has once again taken a dig at Indian coach Gautam Gambhir. He has urged the Indian coach to reconsider his approach of selecting players and keep away his bias of having maximum all-rounders in the team.
These comments were made after Ashwin found no logic behind ignoring Kuldeep Yadav, who had performed brilliantly for India across all formats.
He said, “I can understand why we are playing two spinners with Nitish Reddy in the team. They want depth in the batting because Axar and Washington can bat, but also pay some attention to the bowling, man. In these big grounds, if Kuldeep can’t bowl with a lot of freedom, where will he play? And there will be overspin, which will give him more bounce.”
Ravichandran Ashwin criticized ignoring Kuldeep Yadav
Ashwin was clearly frustrated that he could not understand Gautam Gambhir’s extreme obsession with batting depth. He stressed that being one of India’s best bowlers, Kuldeep Yadav should have been in the team, especially after he took 17 wickets in the Asia Cup and 12 more in the red-ball series against West Indies.
“Look, I understand they will talk about this batting depth, but if it will help you win the game, then the batsmen should be able to take the responsibility. If they are playing extra batsmen, then again they are saving the batting lineup,” he said.
“I would always say, play your best bowlers. Don’t pick a player just because you want to boost your batting. How many all-rounders do you need? You already have three. Even with Nitish in the team, if you can’t play your best bowlers, I don’t get it at all,” Ashwin seemed frustrated by the excessive obsession with all-rounders.
Ashwin stressed on the mental struggle of Kuldeep Yadav
R Ashwin finally warned Gautam Gambhir that not giving Kuldeep Yadav a place in the playing eleven would raise questions about his importance in the team. He has further emphasized that this will crush their mentality and start a mental struggle.
“I think when a player is dropped, he questions himself: “Am I the reason for the team’s defeat?” Kuldeep would probably have the same question in his mind. If, after such a good performance, he is dropped and someone else gets the chance, he would be thinking that he is the problem in the team,” said Ravichandran Ashwin.
“Whether he is or not is a different matter, but that’s what causes a lot of debate internally. It can be very crushing and a lot of players can’t handle it. Maintain direct communication with him,” he said.
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