'There is no issue with skill or headspace' - Virat Kohli on Kuldeep Yadav's exclusion from Playing XI

India’s ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav can be considered as one of the most unlucky cricketers of recent times. Despite finding a place in the Indian squad for almost all the tours, the spinner has found it extremely hard to break into the playing XI. After a long wait of almost two years, Kuldeep finally made a comeback for India in the longest format of the game as he was a part of India’s playing XI for the second Test against England in Chennai.

However, the left-arm leg-spinner bowled just a bit more than 12 overs in the Test and was replaced by Washington Sundar in the third Test. This move by the Indian team raised a lot of eyebrows but the Indian skipper Virat Kohli clarified that Kuldeep’s exclusion from the Playing XI has nothing to do with his skillset or headspace. Kohli asserted that the 26-year-old was not in the Playing XI due to the team combination.

“There is no issue with skill or headspace. His (Kuldeep Yadav’s) game is absolutely precise. He is bowling better than he has ever bowled before. Combinations, we need to make sure we cover all facets of the game and have our strongest talented squad on the park,” Virat Kohli said during the press conference on the eve of the fourth Test.

When Jadeja is playing, Kuldeep comes into the picture: Virat Kohli

India’s celebrated all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja had sustained a thumb injury during the third Test of the four-match Border Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia and hasn’t featured in a single match since then. Axar Patel came as a replacement for Jadeja in the Test series against England and has performed exceptionally well thus far.

Virat Kohli believes that Kuldeep would have definitely played the Test matches if Jadeja was included in the Playing XI as the all-rounder comes handy with the bat for the Men in Blue and has proved his mettle as an all-rounder for many number of times in the past.

“See when Jadeja is playing, Kuldeep comes into the picture because of Jadeja’s experience with the bat and the number of times he has done the job for the team. Kuldeep is a very skillful bowler and will always be in consideration for whatever games we have in front of us,” Virat Kohli concluded.