Kuldeep Yadav breaks silence on being snubbed from playing XI during England tour: 'Gautam Bhai was straightforward'

Throughout the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, pundits and fans kept asking for Kuldeep to start in the playing XI to give India the best possible chance of taking 20 wickets. However, it was to no avail as the Shubman Gill-led India opted to have batting depth and stick with bowlers who can bat a bit.

This theory was confirmed by Kuldeep ahead of the Asia Cup Group A match between India and Oman. However, the 30-year-old had no regrets, saying head coach Gautam Gambhir was straightforward with him about having batting depth, which was the reason behind his omission from the playing XI.

“Communication was clear. Sometimes I felt I could play, but unfortunately, due to batting depth or combinations, I didn’t get a place. Gautam Bhai was straightforward about it. It wasn’t about skill or batting but about team composition due to conditions. I enjoyed my time and learned a lot," Kuldeep Yadav told reporters on Thursday.

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"When you don’t play, you learn more by observing and become a better player. It’s easy to blame others, but tough to accept and work on your weaknesses and improve,” he added.

'Challenges are always there'

Kuldeep also admitted to the circumstances being challenging, saying it was hard for him to arrive in Dubai and immediately perform for the team in the Asia Cup.

“Challenges are always there because when you play the first game, your rhythm is very important. If you keep playing regularly, your rhythm stays set, and you get an idea of how to bowl or spend time on the field, how to react. That was missing a bit," said Kuldeep.

"But for me, it was a very good time to work on myself, improve fitness, and add volume to my bowling because that is very important. Then, I played the Duleep Trophy match where I was wicketless but bowled 35 overs, which helped me set my rhythm. My mindset wasn’t to overthink, just focus on my strengths and bowl in the right areas,” he added.

Kuldeep is currently the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2025 edition of the Asia Cup, only behind the UAE's Junaid Siddique. India have already qualified for the Super 4s stage. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side will take on Oman on Friday in their final Group A game, and then the team will square off against Pakistan in their first match of the Super 4s stage.

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