Ashwin Questions Kuldeep Yadav’s Omission in India-West Indies T20I Series

Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin publicly challenged the team management’s decision to drop left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the third and fourth T20I matches against the West Indies.

India spin great questions Kuldeep's absence from T20I line-up: Lacks common sense

The five-match bilateral series is tied 2-2 after the fourth game in Hyderabad, where the West Indies posted 247/3 and India fell 24 runs short at 223. Kuldeep featured in the first two matches (Lucknow and Ranchi), taking 2 for 33 in the opener but conceding 53 runs in four overs in Ranchi, including a costly 24-run 17th over. Despite that expensive spell, he remained India’s leading wicket-taker against the West Indies in the preceding ODI series, claiming seven wickets in three matches. Ashwin endorsed Kuldeep’s omission in Indore, citing the ground’s small dimensions, but questioned why the same rationale was not applied in Hyderabad.

India spin great questions Kuldeep's absence from T20I line-up: Lacks common sense ‘Lacks common sense’: R Ashwin blasts India management over Kuldeep Yadav’s exclusion The Hindu

Ashwin argued that the West Indies batters have struggled to read Kuldeep’s googly and leg-spin, and that his presence could have trimmed the target by 15–20 runs. He dismissed suggestions that India’s loss in Ranchi was solely due to Kuldeep, labeling such claims “wrong.” While he acknowledged the small ground in Indore, he maintained that dropping the spinner in Hyderabad was unreasonable.

‘Lacks common sense’: R Ashwin blasts India management over Kuldeep Yadav’s exclusion India spin great questions Kuldeep's absence from T20I line-up: Lacks common sense The Hindu

• “It is very surprising because, on a ground where you expect to get some bounce, I know it has not always been a happy hunting ground for spinners, but the West Indies batters are struggling to pick his googly and leg-spin,” — Ashwin While Ashwin

‘Lacks common sense’: R Ashwin blasts India management over Kuldeep Yadav’s exclusion

• “I was surprised. Kuldeep was not picked in Indore, and I would still endorse that decision because I can understand that the ground is small,” — Ashwin While Ashwin

‘Lacks common sense’: R Ashwin blasts India management over Kuldeep Yadav’s exclusion

The series will be decided in the final T20I in Bengaluru on Saturday, with both sides seeking to capitalize on the tactical debates sparked by Kuldeep’s exclusion.

India spin great questions Kuldeep's absence from T20I line-up: Lacks common sense