Team India spin bowler Kuldeep Yadav warmed the benches in all three games of the recently concluded ODI series against England. This constant snub didn’t sit well with former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif. The 45-year-old had asked the bowler to pack his bags and retire from international cricket.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a review meeting for series losses in Ireland and England. Kaif asked the board to take cognizance of Kuldeep’s absence from the playing XI. The former batter also urged the Indian cricket board to ask the team management why Yadav wasn’t played during the England series.
Taking to his YouTube channel, the former batter said, “The review meeting will happen. The BCCI must raise the question behind the selection of the playing XI and ask the reason. They must ask why Kuldeep wasn’t played when Bumrah, Sundar, and Varun weren’t there.”
“England won the final game of the series due to Buttler’s 40 at the end of the innings, and Yadav has gotten the better of him before and has done well in England as well. They must ask the reason. The team management can give the reason of batting depth, which is fine. But in the third game, the team all-rounder at number eight was injured and was out. Even then, Kuldeep wasn’t given a chance to play, which is beyond my understanding, and the team played all inexperienced bowlers,” he added.
Mohammad Kaif believes bowling is the biggest concern
The next ODI World Cup will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, and the former Indian star believes that bowling is the biggest concern. He also said that the Indian selectors don’t have to think that Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli are the biggest concerns.
“The biggest issue is in the bowling. Rohit or Virat aren’t the biggest concern. Pitches in South Africa are different. Batters will get out at times, and the score could be 250, but does India have the bowling to defend that? This is the biggest question. You need a balanced team to win the World Cup. One cannot have heavy batting and weak bowling. You have to defend a low total, and right now we don’t have the bowling to do that,” he mentioned.
Finally, the ex-India international said, “There is no backup for Bumrah, no backup for Hardik. You don’t have quality bowlers like Shami and Bhuvneshwar. I don’t know why Siraj is also out when all the new guys are being backed. If Bumrah is not there, you are exposed. The young bowlers will work around him. He pushes rivals back, and those bowling with him benefit. But we are too far behind without him. Injury concern is a big thing for us that we don’t even talk about.”
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