Gambhir 'surprised' by Kolkata's decision to retain Kuldeep Yadav post dismal IPL 2020

Former Kolkata skipper Gautam Gambhir has expressed displeasure with the franchise's decision to retain young spinner, Kuldeep Yadav, ahead of the IPL 2021 mini-auction. Gambhir, who led Kolkata to its maiden IPL title, has stated that the left-arm chinaman should have been released after he lost his place in the playing XI during the previous edition. 

Yadav, who was otherwise a mainstay in Kolkata's playing XI, played only 5 games in IPL 2020 despite the franchise's lead spinner Sunil Narine being out for a few matches due to injury. On the same note, with Varun Chakravarthy having an impeccable season last year, it is highly unlikely for Kuldeep to find his place in the playing XI as the franchise has retained Narine and Chakravarthy as well. 

'Harmful to your career'

Highlighting the same on Star Sports network, Gautam Gambhir said, "I am a little surprised about Kuldeep Yadav being retained because he did not get the opportunities. I would have wanted to see Kuldeep Yadav go to a franchise where he gets an opportunity to play." 

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"Because if you are playing for India and not part of your franchise's playing XI, it is somewhere or the other be harmful to your career," he added. Yadav's spot in the Indian team has also been under doubt with several other young spinners' being considered ahead of him due to his lack of form. While Yadav's India spin partner Yuzvendra Chahal has cemented his place in the lineup, the chinaman himself has failed to replicate the success he enjoyed during his initial stint. 

With Kolkata retaining Yadav, Gambhir feels that the team should play the chinaman, adding that if he was in the auction pool, a lot of franchises would have gunned for him. "Now that you have retained him, they should play him. Otherwise, I feel Kuldeep Yadav should have himself said that if he is not in their scheme of things, he should be given an opportunity to go and play somewhere else," Gambhir said. 

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Kolkata retain most of the squad

The Knight Riders have retained most of their squad as they seek to clinch their second IPL title this year. Head Coach Brendon McCullum has exuded confidence in the franchises' strategy to retain the core squad as several out of form players in the previous edition have secured their seats in the squad this year as well. Taking to Twitter, McCallum had stated that the squad was not 'far away' last year and this year the team will be 'very competitive'. Chris Green, Tom Banton, Siddharth M and Siddhesh Lad are the only players to be released leaving Kolkata with an amount of Rs 10.85 crores in its purse for the IPL 2021 auction which is slated to be held in February. 

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