"Kuldeep Yadav has been underutilized" - Robin Uthappa wants India to play wrist-spinner regularly with 2024 T20 World Cup in sight
Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa believes the Men in Blue should give more chances to left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in their rebuild for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Kuldeep had an impressive IPL 2022 season and was touted by many to have an outside chance of being named in India's T20 World Cup squad this year. However, some injuries along the way didn't help his cause. He missed his chance by being unavailable for some crucial games in the build-up to the tournament.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Robin Uthappa explained why Kuldeep's genuine wicket-taking ability will be crucial for the Men in Blue moving forward. He said:
"Kuldeep Yadav has been underutilized. He has had some injuries but has done well in whatever opportunities he has got. He also recently bagged a hat-trick against India A.
"So it is important to decide who will be your pool of players for the next [T20] World Cup, give them specific roles and then rotate them."
Kuldeep Yadav named in both T20I and ODI squads for NZ tour
Team India seem to be keen on giving Kuldeep a chance to become part of their future plans once again. They have named the left-arm wrist-spinner in both their ODI as well as T20I squads for the New Zealand tour.
This is a golden opportunity for the spinner to perform well and make his claim stronger for next year's ODI World Cup as well as the T20 World Cup in 2024. He last played in a T20I in August this year, bagging three wickets and giving away just 12 runs in India's win over the West Indies at Lauderhill.
Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav should be the 2 Spinners in T20I from now.
They both should play WT20 2024.
India’s squad for New Zealand T20Is: Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik.
India’s squad for New Zealand ODIs: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik.