Ravichandran Ashwin questioned India’s continued omission Kuldeep Yadavwarning that the arm spinner’s prolonged absence from the playing XI could dent his confidence and pace.Kuldeep was again left out of India for the third and final ODI against England at Lord’s on Sunday, despite the visitors missing two top-line bowling options. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out with a knee injury, while Washington Sundar was unavailable after suffering a hamstring injury. However, the Indian team management opted for a heavy pace attack comprising four fast bowlers and only one specialist spinner in Axar Patel, leaving Kuldeep on the sidelines.Reacting to the decision, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin expressed sympathy for Kuldeep, suggesting that repeated omissions could negatively impact the spinner’s confidence.“The only defense for not playing Kuldeep usually is that the batting ends at number 7. That’s how it feels to have Arshdeep at number 8 today! Adding Bumrah’s absence to that, one can only feel bad for Kuldeep. Trust me, this can affect a bowler’s pace and confidence,” Ashwin wrote on X.Kuldeep has now missed all three ODIs of India’s tour of England after also being rested for the previous T20I series. His opportunities have been limited in recent months, having featured in just one match during the home ODI series against Afghanistan, where he returned figures of 0/42 in Lucknow.India’s preference for Axar Patel and Washington Sundar has largely been driven by the added batting depth they provide, often pushing Kuldeep down the pecking order despite his proven ability to take wickets in the 50-over format.
Playing XI for India vs England at Lord’s
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.England: Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue.