Aakash Chopra questions Kuldeep Yadav's snub from Team India, makes case for his inclusion

As BCCI announced a jumbo 20-man squad for India's tour of England, Kuldeep Yadav had to face selectors' axe continuing his free fall. Yadav, once India's arguably best wrist spinner, has often found himself on the bench or even out of the team ever since he was taken to the cleaners by Moeen Ali in the IPL 2019. However, captain Virat Kohli, prior to the Test series against England at home, had reposed faith in the chinaman and had remarked that he was a part of India's plan going forward. 

Despite skipper Kohli's affirmation, the BCCI denied Kuldeep Yadav a ticket to the World Test Championship and the subsequent England tour which has left former India cricketer Aakash Chopra with an intriguing question. The commentator & analyst, while reviewing India's squad for the WTC final, remarked that the exclusion is a 'little harsh' on Kuldeep Yadav. 

"Personally, even Kuldeep Yadav's exclusion is a little harsh. He has not played too much cricket, so to make the formal opinion that he does not make the cut, I feel that he is a little hard done by," Chopra said during a discussion on ESPNCricinfo.

"He bowled only one Test against England, on a raging turner. Picked up a couple of wickets at the end. Did not play the pink-ball Test. Now he is not playing the entire series. Not just the WTC final, but also the five-match Test series against England. In Covid times, you have the luxury of playing larger squads, so why not Kuldeep Yadav," he added. 

Making an intricate observation, Chopra pointed out that all the spinner picked - Ashwin, Jadeja, Sundar, and Axar Patel - are finger spinners and highlighted that Kuldeep Yadav, on the other hand, is a wrist spinner. Making a case for Kuldeep's selection, Chopra said that the left-arm chinaman could be used well against England as the hosts tend to struggle against wrist spinners. 

Bhogle on Kuldeep Yadav's snub

Harsha Bhogle took to his Twitter handle and analyzed the 20-man squad selected by the BCCI. The Indian commentator outlined that India will be touring England with a lot of spin bowling all-rounders but no seam bowling all-rounder. With Hardik Pandya not bowling, it was clear that he would not make the team, however, BCCI not selecting Kuldeep Yadav has what made him sad. Harsha Bhogle took to his Twitter handle and wrote:

Kuldeep Yadav, while he has been a part of the India squad recently, he has not had many games. Of his seven Tests, he has played only one in the last two years - the second Test against England in February this year - in which he got to bowl just 12.2 overs overall, returning 0 for 16 and 2 for 25 as India won by 317 runs. His previous Test appearance before that was back in January 2019 in Sydney, where he picked up 5 for 99 in the first Australia innings.

BCCI announces squad for WTC final

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced a 20-man squad for the upcoming World Test Championship and India tour of England. Team India’s first stop will be in Southampton where they play New Zealand to decide the first champion of the Test format. Following their 3-1 win against England at home, India finished as the No. 1 side with 72.2 percentage points and booked their place in the final. The Indian team is scheduled to play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand at Southampton from June 18-22 before taking on England in a five-Test series.

India’s squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).