India took the field without Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test of the series between Bangladesh and India on Thursday, surprising many fans and former cricketers alike. Yadav was one of the key reasons why India won the opening Test against Bangladesh by 188 runs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
Kuldeep had delivered a Player of the Match performance in the first Test, taking a five-wicket haul and ending with eight dismissals to his name. The spinner had also contributed with the bat, scoring an important 40 in the lower order as India reached a strong total of 404 in the first innings.
However, Kuldeep didn’t find a place in the playing XI in the second Test against the Tigers at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. Instead, India opted for fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat in the playing XI. Kuldeep had made a comeback to the Indian Test team for the first time since March 2021. He had registered impressive figures of 5/40 and 3/73 across the two innings of the first Test.
‘I want to use more harsh words’- Sunil Gavaskar
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar didn’t mince his words after Kuldeep Yadav was dropped from the playing XI of the second Test against Bangladesh. He said that India had two other spinners who would’ve been dropped but they drop a Man of the Match which was unbelievable.
“To drop a Man of the Match is absolutely unbelievable…and unbelievable is a very gentle word. I want to use more harsh words. You drop a player who picked eight out of 20 wickets in the last game and have two other spinners. One of those two should have been dropped and he should have played no matter what.”
Talking about the second Test match, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and opted to bat in Dhaka. The hosts made two changes to their XI, with batter Mominul Haque and fast bowler Taskin Ahmed replacing Yasir Ali and Ebadot Hossain.
