Sunil Gavaskar baffled after Kuldeep Yadav’s snub for 2nd Test

The Indian team shocked a fair few when they decided to drop star spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur. The left-arm spinner dished out a ‘Player of the match’ performance in the previous encounter, yet found himself on the sidelines for the decisive second and final Test match of the series. Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar labeled the decision to drop Kuldeep as ‘absolutely unbelievable’.

Kuldeep Yadav made his much-anticipated return to the red-ball side in the series opener against Bangladesh in Chattogram. He returned with a phenomenal five-for in the first innings and went on to scalp a total of eight wickets in the match, propelling India to a comfortable victory. However, his match-winning performance was not enough to guarantee a place in the starting eleven for the second game of the series as he was replaced by Jaydev Unadkat the team.

The decision did not go well with several fans and pundits, who criticized the move to drop the spinner from the team. Former Indian opener and batting great Sunil Gavaskar was also baffled by the decision and reckoned if they needed to drop someone, they could’ve dropped one of the other spinners in the team.

“I want to use more harsh words” – Sunil Gavaskar

“To drop a Man of the Match is absolutely unbelievable…and unbelievable is a very gentle word. I want to use more harsh words. You drop a player who picked eight out of 20 wickets in the last game and have two other spinners. One of those two should have been dropped and he should have played no matter what,” Gavaskar said while speaking to Sony Sports Network.

Jaydev Unadkat, who replaced Kuldeep for the second match, has impressed on his return to Test cricket after a hiatus of 12 years. The last time he played for India, head coach Rahul Dravid was still a part of the playing eleven. Unadkat has been able to extract extra pace and bounce at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, troubling the Bangladeshi batters more than any other Indian bowler on the opening day of the series finale.