Former Indian batter and presenter Wasim Jaffer has lashed out at the Indian team management, headed by Gautam Gambhir, for omitting Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
At the toss, Indian captain Shubman Gill revealed that Kuldeep missed out due to an infection. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Jaffer claimed that Kuldeep was perhaps not in the list of ‘favourites’.
“It is not right to drop someone after just one match. As it is, in the first game there were three spinners, so someone had to be under-bowled, and that was Kuldeep. If he is unwell, then it’s a different thing, but if he has been dropped, this is not right for any player. India plays fewer Tests, and after this, they will play in New Zealand, where Kuldeep will not play anyway. It has been seen for a while that he is not being given consistent chances, and he is not in the favorites list. It is unfortunate. I feel very sad, and I hope he bounces back wherever he gets an opportunity. Maybe in the Ranji Trophy or the next IPL,” Jaffer said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Furthermore, Jaffer reckoned that Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi could have been given a chance in the second Test. However, he went on to add that Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj were the frontline pacers for the time being.
“I do feel bad for Auqib Nabi. First of all, he should have been in the team directly and not as a replacement. But now that he is there, I hope he gets an opportunity. But I can understand that Prasidh has done well, and Siraj has been okay too. There is not a lot of help for fast bowlers either. I hope in the New Zealand series, Auqib gets a chance, and he should. Otherwise, this playing 11 was expected. If Kuldeep did not play, Saransh was the expected choice,” he added.
