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Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned the way Kuldeep Yadav has been handled by the current Indian cricket team management. He criticized Gautam Gambhir and the Indian selectors for ignoring Kuldeep Yadav despite proving his match-winning ability several times.
Kuldeep was not selected in the T20 squad for the upcoming Ireland and England tours as well as the Asian Games 2026. The left-arm wrist spinner was already disappointed after getting just one game during India’s successful T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, and now he has suffered another blow.
Ravichandran Ashwin calls recent behavior with Kuldeep Yadav ‘bizarre’
Ravichandran Ashwin believes that things were very different when Rahul Dravid was the head coach and Rohit Sharma was leading the team. During that period, Kuldeep Yadav received strong support from the management and was regularly supported even when he was struggling for form. That confidence helped Kuldeep become one of India’s most effective bowlers across all formats.
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“The way Kuldeep Yadav has been handled is strange. When the last team management was with Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep got good support and everyone saw the evidence of that as he was putting in match-winning performances. But again, in the last 18 months, Kuldeep has been finding himself surrounded by a lot of questions,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Vaibhav Suryavanshi as saying.
Kuldeep became a regular member of the Indian team between 2021 and 2024. He played 6 Tests, 38 ODIs and 17 T20 matches during Dravid’s tenure and delivered many match-winning performances. His ability to take wickets in the middle overs made him one of India’s biggest weapons.
However, ever since Gautam Gambhir took over the reins, Kuldeep has been in and out of the team as the coach was preferring Varun Chakravarthy even during the T20 World Cup 2026.
Ashwin urges Kuldeep Yadav to make Test cricket his top priority
However, Kuldeep remains a part of India’s Test plans and is currently playing in the ongoing one-off Test against Afghanistan. And Ashwin feels it is the right time for the spinner to focus more on red-ball cricket and make a strong statement with his performances.
“Test cricket should be his priority now and he should pursue it,” the former Indian all-rounder said.
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Ashwin exposes double standards in India’s spin selection
Ashwin admitted that Kuldeep’s IPL 2026 season did not help his cause. The wrist spinner took only 10 wickets and gave away runs at an economy rate of 10.30, which was the most expensive IPL season of his career.
However, he was also surprised by the selection of Ravi Bishnoi as he had also not had a great IPL season. He played only nine matches this season and took 11 wickets.
Ashwin said, “So, what happens happens. He didn’t have a very good IPL, and having not played in the back half of the IPL, he has come back to the T20 setup. These are circular calls in many ways. But version 2.0 of Ravi Bishnoi needs to come on because he has missed a lot of his length now, and he needs to find his mojo again.”
