“Why does this happen so often to Kuldeep Yadav?” - Twitterati lash out at Team India after spinner is dropped for 2nd Test vs Bangladesh
Team India made a shocking decision to drop left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI for the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka. Speaking after losing the toss on Thursday (December 22), India’s stand-in captain KL Rahul revealed that India have brought in left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat in place of the spinner.
The decision was somewhat baffling, as Kuldeep was the Player of the Match in the first Test in Chattogram, his first red-ball game for India in nearly two years. The 28-year-old had claimed 5-40 in the first innings, his career-best Test figures and followed it up with 3-73 in the second as India beat Bangladesh by 188 runs to take a 1-0 lead.
Earlier, he contributed with the bat as well, scoring a crucial 40 off 114 in the first innings. The left-arm spinner and Ravichandran Ashwin added 92 for eighth wicket to help the visitors cross 400.
Twitterati were expectedly stunned by the Indian management’s decision to leave out Kuldeep from the playing XI for the second Test in Dhaka.
Here are some reactions from the micro-blogging site to the strange move:
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 #DoddaMathu #CricketTwitter
As is their wont, Kuldeep Yadav has been dropped yet again - this time after being man of the match last Test. Go figure #IndvsBan
@vikrantgupta73 This is criminal from the team management. Kuldeep was the pick of the bowlers from the last match. how can they drop him?? This Rahul ,Rahul & Rohit these 3 should be kicked out from Indian team immediately
Wow... wicket that green out there to keep Kuldeep out? Looks overcast certainly.
But wondering if Unadkat is the right choice to go with.
Thoughts?
Feel for Kuldeep Yadav. Took 8 wickets and scored the crucial 40 runs with the Man Of The Match award, but sits out in the very next match.
A bowler picks up a five wicket haul in his last Test and then gets dropped for the next. Guess what, the Test match happens to be in Mirpur and the bowler once again happens to be Kuldeep Yadav. @imkuldeep18 #INDvBAN
Kuldeep Yadav takes eight wickets and is dropped for the next game. 🤷🏽 #BANvsIND
Kuldeep benched for the 2nd Test 🤷♂️
Yeah…a little bit of grass on the surface but it’s Dhaka. I mean.
Happy for Unadkat though…inspirational story of ‘never give up’. Red ball has given him another chance. Wish you well, bro 🤗 #BanvInd
Story of Kuldeep Yadav: Player of the match in first Test but no place in second Test, feel for him especially after returning to the team after 22 months.
Not just his bowling but Kuldeep Yadav had an impact with the bat as well in the last Test match. Strange, but he has been dropped after picking a five-wicket haul for the second straight time.
#INDvBAN #BANvIND #kuldeepyadav #SportsYaari
Classic! Drop a match-winner like Kuldeep Yadav just because no one could pick him in the last Test! Just who makes these calls? #cricket #BANvIND
Kuldeep Yadav dropped despite a match-winning performance at Chattogram.
Weird things happen with wrist spinners in #INDvBAN Tests. In 2010 Amit Mishra took 7 wickets in the match and scored a fifty at Chattogram, only to be dropped for next Test at Mirpur!
#BANvIND #BANvsIND
Nothing the Indian team management does when it comes to fielding team combos shocks you anymore, but even by their nutty standards, the dropping of Kuldeep Yadav, player of the match in the last game, tops the list of the plethora of bad decisions that they have made. #INDvBAN
@bhogleharsha @imkuldeep18 Absolutely rubbish way of treating players. Why does Kuldeep always get this step mom treatment from Bcci selectors coach and captain. Despicable!!
“Hard to leave out Kuldeep” - KL Rahul
Speaking after losing the toss, Team India’s stand-in captain Rahul admitted that it was a tough decision to leave out Kuldeep after his heroics in the first Test. He, however, added that it's a good opportunity for Unadkat to make his mark. Rahul said:
“We made one change - Kuldeep misses out and Unadkat comes in. Hard to leave out Kuldeep but Jaydev gets his opportunity today.”
Speaking about the pitch in Dhaka, he said that he too would have batted first but added:
“Not sure what to make of the surface. There is some grass, but it's generally good to bat here. There is generally some bounce here and some help for both pacers and spinners. We'd have wanted to bat first but we aren't sure what to expect. We just need to play good cricket and bowl well in the first innings. It's a bit damp so the ball might do a bit in the first session.”
India vs Bangladesh 2nd Test playing XIs
India: KL Rahul (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (w), Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Nurul Hasan (w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed