Yuzvendra Chahal, who last played alongside Kuldeep Yadav in a World Cup game against England in 2019, has revealed why the duo is no longer in India’s playing XI.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, a spin tandem, enjoyed a lot of success together. After India’s loss in the Champions Trophy final, the team moved on from R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, and entrusted Kuldeep and Chahal with the task. Over the next few years, they played a lot of matches together, picking up a lot of wickets.
Kuldeep and Chahal played together in 34 of India’s 53 One-Day Internationals between September 2017 and July 2019. India won 24 of those games. Kuldeep picked up a hat-trick in the process, while Chahal set a new career-high with 6/42 in Australia, becoming the first Indian bowler to take a six-wicket haul there.
Kuldeep and Chahal, on the other hand, have not played together in the last two years. The reason for this, according to Chahal, is due to the team’s composition. The leg-spinner, who last played with Kuldeep in the 2019 World Cup match against England, has claimed that what occurred with Hardik Pandya and his injury is the reason he and Kuldeep are no longer in India’s Playing XI.
“Hardik Pandya was also around when Kuldeep Yadav and I were playing, and he would bowl. Ravindra Jadeja made a comeback (in white-ball cricket) as an all-rounder who could also bat at number 7 after Hardik Pandya was injured in 2018. We could have played together if he had been a medium pacer, but he is a spinner. It was the team’s request”, In an interview with Sports Tak, Chahal stated.
“In any series, Kuldeep and I split the matches 50-50. Sometimes he’d play three games in a five-game series, and other times I’d have a chance to play. The right team mix is required; 11 players make up a team, and ‘Kul-cha’ was not one of them. We stayed until Hardik was ready, and we were given chances as well. The club was in desperate need of an all-rounder at No. 7. Even though I am not playing, I am content because the team is winning”, Chahal continued.
