"He's fallen away over the last little bit" - Rahul Dravid on Kuldeep Yadav

Former Indian cricket team captain Rahul Dravid believes that Kuldeep Yadav was the only player who could have merited selection in the Indian squad for the ICC World Test Championship Final. The left-arm wrist-spinner has surprisingly lost his place in the Test squad. 

The BCCI did not name him for the Test series against England and the ICC World Test Championship Final versus New Zealand. In a webinar organized by Live Aid India on Sunday, Rahul Dravid talked about the curious case of Kuldeep Yadav. 

He explained that the good performance of the off-spinners and their ability to bat gave them an edge over Kuldeep. Here’s what Dravid said: 

“It does seem balanced. It’s a 20-member squad. The only other one who could have merited selection would’ve been Kuldeep Yadav, but he’s fallen away over the last little bit. Also, with the kind of recent performances from Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar, they’re clear about the kind of balance they want in the squad.” 

Kuldeep Yadav has played seven Test matches for Team India, scalping 26 wickets at an economy rate of 3.49. He did a good job in his previous Test appearance versus England. However, the team management did not consider him for the England tour. 

It lengthens their batting and all four finger spinners here allow them to do that: Rahul Dravid 

Further talking about the decision to exclude Kuldeep Yadav from the ICC World Test Championship Final’s squad, Rahul Dravid added:

“With both Ashwin and Jadeja adding value with the bat and having like-for-like replacements in Axar and Washy [Washington Sundar], they’re clear about the direction they want to take. It lengthens their batting and all four finger spinners here allow them to do that.”

Although he did not get a spot in the Indian Test squad, Kuldeep Yadav will likely play for the country in the white-ball series versus Sri Lanka.