'There was a bit of disappointment for sure'- Kuldeep Yadav opens up on being dropped against Australia

Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav isn’t having the best of times professionally as the cricketer has lately failed to make it to India’s Playing XI across all formats. Kuldeep was expected to make a comeback in the Test team in the Brisbane Test against Australia after Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin were ruled out owing to the injuries.

However, contrary to the popular belief, the team management decided to include the debutant Washington Sundar as the only spinner in the Indian team in the final Test instead of Kuldeep. This had raised many eyebrows as people questioned the position of the 26-year-old in Team India.

Kuldeep Yadav finally opened up on the whole fiasco stating that though he is disappointed for not getting opportunities to play, he understands that the situation didn’t favour him and is happy that India managed to create history in Australia by winning the prestigious Border Gavaskar Trophy by 2-1. Kuldeep is also hopeful about playing against England in the four-match Test series in India.

“I would not call it challenging, but yes, I did not get opportunities. There was a bit of disappointment for sure, but since the team did well, it did not matter much. I was definitely expecting to play, however, that was not possible due to the team combination.

“Maybe, I did not fit into the combination, but then, the team put up a brilliant show. The way we won the series was outstanding. I believe apna time aayega (my time will come) in the England series, and whenever I get an opportunity, I will try to deliver,” said Kuldeep Yadav as quoted by Sportstar.

Our only target was to play well and bounce back in the series: Kuldeep Yadav

India had a disastrous start to the Test series against Australia as they were bundled out for a paltry total of 36 runs, their lowest ever Test score. However, India bounced back stronger in the series and managed to win the second and fourth Test while the third game had resulted in a draw.

Speaking about the strategy used by Indian players after the Adelaide Test, Kuldeep stated, “We, obviously, did not get off to a good start in the series and after that debacle, in Adelaide, we had a discussion the next day. Ravi bhai (head coach Ravi Shastri) said that we should now treat it as a three-match series and prepare accordingly.

“All the players have always put the team first and we did not think about what was happening around us. Our only target was to play well and bounce back in the series. The team had a fighting spirit throughout.”