After Washington Sundar’s exit before the third match, Kuldeep Yadav’s exit from the third and final ODI was shocking for every former cricketer. Now former England all-rounder Moeen Ali has raised questions on the exclusion of Kuldeep Yadav from the playing eleven in all three matches.
India played a combination of four fast bowlers in the form of Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Prasidh Krishna in the final ODI at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, with Axar Patel being the only spin option in the team. All the bowlers gave away runs all over the field and England scored 387 runs in 50 overs.
Moeen Ali raised questions on Kuldeep Yadav’s exclusion from the playing eleven.
While talking on Beard Before Wicket YouTube channel, Moeen Ali said that he does not know the reason for not playing Kuldeep Yadav. Ali compared Kuldeep with Adil Rashid and described him as a wicket-taking bowler.
“I don’t know why Kuldeep Yadav is not playing. He is one of the best spinners in the world. For them, he is like their Adil Rashid. He is a wicket-taker who breaks partnerships and is difficult to pick. He needs to play, but the problem is that India want to have a long batting lineup. Many of their bowlers cannot really bat. That is the issue for them.”
Kuldeep Yadav has played 121 One Day Internationals for India, in which he has taken 194 wickets at a bowling average of 27.05 and an economy rate of 5.07. Although he has been struggling in recent times, he has always been a match-winner for India across all formats.
“Bowling looks very average” – Moeen Ali questions India’s bowling attack
Moeen Ali also pointed out that the bowling attack of the Indian national cricket team is average without Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah missed the third match due to a knee injury he sustained while fielding in the second ODI in Cardiff, and thus the Indian bowling attack, especially the fast bowlers, combined to take three wickets.
“Without Bumrah, the bowling looks very average. They are an average bowling attack. If the conditions suit them they are still good. But if the wickets are flat, India will struggle massively with the ball.”
Moeen Ali highlights the importance of Jasprit Bumrah
He was excellent in the first two ODIs; Despite taking two wickets, he applied pressure with his bowling and did not concede runs easily, as his economy in both ODIs was an incredible four runs.
Moeen said, “Bumrah was missed a lot in the last game. He took early wickets and it is not easy to score runs against him. He really helps the other bowlers as well. His absence is like taking away Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer from the England team.”
Talking about the match, England batted first and set a target of 388 runs, Ben Duckett scored 141 runs, Jacob Bethel scored 91 runs and Joe Root scored 74 runs. For the Men in Blue, Rohit Sharma scored 138, and Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill scored 74 and 77, as India lost the match by 27 runs.
