"There was no chance also" - Aakash Chopra on Kuldeep Yadav's non-selection in India's squad for the ODI series vs South Africa
Aakash Chopra believes the current thinking of the Indian selectors and team management meant Kuldeep Yadav was never going to be selected for the ODI series against South Africa.
Yadav is not part of the 18-member Indian squad chosen for the three ODIs against the Proteas. Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar are the three spinners selected in the squad.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was asked about Kuldeep Yadav not being selected for the ODIs despite having a great record against South Africa. He responded:
"Honestly speaking, there was no chance also because in our country and cricket some winds blow and the way the winds are blowing, they have said that Kuldeep Yadav is completely out of favor."
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal formed a potent spin bowling pair a couple of years ago. Chopra elaborated:
"There was a time when Yuzi and Kuldeep played together and did very well. At one point, they had played 25 matches together and picked up more than 100 wickets, which means four wickets per game."
33 wickets in an odi series by young bowlers who had never been to South Africa before is a splendid, rare achievement. #Chahal #Kuldeep
Yadav and Chahal together scalped 33 wickets in the six ODIs they played in the 2018 tour of South Africa. Their exploits helped the Virat Kohli-led side register an emphatic 5-1 win in the series.
Suddenly Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal didn't play together at all: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra highlighted that the mauling at the hands of England batters in the 2019 World Cup heralded the end of the Kuldeep Yadav-Chahal partnership. He explained:
"But then everything changed. One match went bad, you are reminded of the Birmingham match at the World Cup and after that, suddenly they didn't play together at all. Either one plays or the other but both don't play together and now one is not there at all and in between the other's name was also not there."
However, the 44-year-old concluded on an optimistic note for Kuldeep Yadav. Chopra stated:
"Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin are there, Ravindra Jadeja is not there but despite that Kuldeep Yadav is not there. Indian cricket is like that, it keeps changing, the winds are blowing in that direction now. So somebody else is the flavor of the season. It is possible Kuldeep Yadav is back after one year and we might be taking him to the World Cup."
Kuldeep Yadav named as the captain of Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22
Yadav last played for Team India in the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka in July 2021. However, he had to undergo surgery after suffering a knee injury during IPL 2021 and has not played competitive cricket since.