There is a lack of sense of security among the players: Robin Uthappa

Right after winning the Player of the Match award in the first Test against Bangladesh in December 2022, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was dropped from India's playing XI as the KL Rahul-led side replaced him with left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat.

The move attracted a lot of criticism as many former players deemed it unnecessary and Robin Uthappa has become the latest cricketer to comment about the same, and has also stated that there’s a sense of insecurity among the Indian cricketers at the moment.

Uthappa, who was a part of India's T20 World Cup-winning side in 2007, mentioned that franchises like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have made very few changes over the years and that’s the reason they are the two most successful teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He believes that the Indian team should do the same in order to win ICC trophies.

“Kuldeep was 'Player of the Match' in first Test against Bangladesh and he was out of the team for the next match; it doesn't give (send) a good message.

Yes, you can explain things to Kuldeep once but this gives (sends) a wrong message to the young players that even after getting the 'Player of the Match', your place in the team is not assured,” Uthappa told PTI.

“I think there is a lack of sense of security among the players in the team. There have been constant changes in the team for a long time, when a player does not feel safe, he always remains with the mindset of saving his place in the team,” the former India international added.

It is important to give a sense of security to the players: Uthappa

Uthappa said that it is very important to give players a sense of security in order to bring out the best in them. He believes that there are too many changes happening in Indian cricket and that needs to change in order to achieve positive results for the team.

“I think it is important to give a sense of security to the players. What we are seeing is, for the last few years, too many changes are going on. And in crucial matches, their performance dips because they are not sure of their place in (the) team for the next match.

You look at IPL, most of the times such teams have won the titles which have made less changes in the playing XI. The success of Chennai (Super Kings) and Mumbai (Indians) also proves this,” Uthappa added.

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