In the second Test match between India and Bangladesh on Thursday, wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was left out from the playing XI. In his place, pacer Jaydev Unadkat was given a chance as he made a comeback to the Indian Test XI after 12 years. Interestingly, Kuldeep was the hero of 1st Test as he had picked eight wickets and was adjudged the Player of the Match as well. His axing from the XI didn’t go down well with fans and former cricketers including India’s former off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh.
The former India star was astonished by the playing XI decision, criticising the team management on the same. Harbhajan, who took more than 400 Test wickets for India, also went on to highlight the gross injustice meted out on Kuldeep in the last few years.
“I think from now on, Kuldeep should stop taking five-wicket hauls. Who knows that he might just get to play two Test matches in a row!” a sarcastic Harbhajan told PTI.
“Like last time when he got a five-for, before Chattogram Test, was against Australia in Sydney (5/99) in different conditions. He was supposed to be India’s No. 1 spinner in overseas conditions but he had to wait for more than two years to play a Test,” added the former India spinner.
“Now he played after nearly two years again and has been dropped again. Would love to know the rationale,” wondered Harbhajan.
Harbhajan then went on to draw a comparison between Kuldeep and some of India’s Test players who got several chances despite under-performance for years at a stretch. The 42-year-old didn’t take names as he spoke on the same.
“I don’t want to name any player but some of the players in the Test set-up got a long rope, up to five years. In case of Kuldeep, it seems that the duration of his security is five days,” said Harbhajan
“How does one feel safe if he gets dropped after taking eight wickets. Can he play fearless cricket when all that the team management has done is to instil fear in him?” he questioned
“You can never perform if there is a sword hanging over your head. I only hope that Kuldeep doesn’t lose confidence because of this as he is someone who should be serving India for another good 8-10 years,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first in the second Test. The hosts were bowled out for 227 runs in 73.5 overs in the first innings. For India, Unadkat picked two wickets while Umesh and Ashwin picked four wickets each.
