Ravichandran Ashwin Questioning India’s continued neglect Kuldeep Yadavwarned that the left-arm wrist spinner’s prolonged absence from the line-up could dent his confidence and rhythm.Kuldeep has once again been ruled out of the third and final ODI against England at Lord’s on Sunday, although the visitors missed out on two frontline bowling options. Pace striker Jasprit Bumrah is out with a knee injury, while all-rounder Washington Sundar is ruled out with a hamstring injury. However, the Indian team management opted for a pace-heavy attack featuring four fast bowlers and one specialist spinner in Axar Patel, leaving Kuldeep on the sidelines.Reacting to the decision, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin expressed sympathy for Kuldeep and said repeated oversights could have a negative impact on the spinner’s confidence.“Usually the only defense for not playing against Kuldeep is batting at No. 7. Wonder what it was like to have Arshdeep batting at No. 8 today! Add to that Bumrah’s absence and one can only feel bad for Kuldeep. Trust me, it affects the pace and confidence of the bowlers,” Ashwin wrote on X.Kuldeep was also rested during the previous T20I series and has now missed all three ODIs of India’s tour of England. His opportunities have been limited in recent months, with him playing just one match in the ODI series at home against Afghanistan and a record of 0/42 in Lucknow.India’s preference for Axar Patel and Washington Sundar is largely due to the added batting depth they offer, which has often pushed Kuldeep down the order despite proving his wicket-taking prowess in 50-over matches.
India vs England line-up
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (centre), Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Axarel Patel, Gurel Patel Yadav), Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.England: Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brooke (centre), Jos Buttler (right), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Josh Tonge.
