"Shocking, Ridiculous": Ex India Pacer Compares Kuldeep Yadav's Exclusion To That Of Karun Nair

Former India pacer Dodda Ganesh lashed out at the Indian team management for dropping Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test against Bangladesh. Kuldeep, who had picked 8 wickets in the first Test and was also the player of the match, was dropped as India decided to play Jaydev Unadkat. Ganesh compared his case to that of Karun Nair, who was dropped after scoring a triple century in Test cricket. 

The 28-year-old left-arm wrist spinner had career-best figures of 5/40 in the first innings in the opening Test at Chattogram. He backed it up with three wickets in the second innings for a career-best match figures of 8/113 as India defeated Bangladesh by 188 runs.

However, he was replaced by Saurashtra seam bowler Jaydev Unadkat in the second Test, which got under way at Mirpur on Thursday, making former Test bowler Dodda Ganesh wonder why the team management had taken such a decision.

Ganesh wondered why such treatment was being meted out to Kuldeep. "Why does this happen so often to Kuldeep Yadav? You can't be doing this to him again and again. Please some one put an arm around his shoulder and tell him not to lose heart. Yes. It's tough being Kuldeep Yadav. Spare a thought for him," said Ganesh, who played four Tests, on social media.

"Also the way the Bangladeshis struggled to pick him in the last Test makes this decision to leave him out today even more senseless and defies cricketing logic. You want your match-winner to warm the benches?" he questioned.

"I guess the think tank needs to be a bit more considerate while dealing with the youngsters who've done well; and tinker the team combo accordingly. Last time they dropped Karun (Nair) after his 303 not out to play an extra seamer at Hyderabad. And now this, with Kuldeep Yadav. Shocking. Ridiculous," he added.

Kuldeep had also contributed with the bat in the match, scoring 40 runs in the first innings. He had been included in India's squad for the third One-day International against Bangladesh after fast bowlers Kuldeep Sen and Deepak Chahar had been ruled out due to injuries.

(With PTI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Bangladesh Cricket Team Kuldeep Yadav Jaydev Unadkat Bangladesh vs India, 2022/23 Cricket