'Inki kismat mein hi nahi hai khelna' – Fans take a dig at Gautam Gambhir over player selection for ENG vs IND 5th Test

India cricket team left out Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh from their playing XI for the IND vs ENG 5th Test in London. This means the tour ends for both players, as they did not play a single match despite being part of the squad.

India made four changes to their playing XI – Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep, Karun Nair, and Prasidh Krishna replaced Rishabh Pant, Anshul Kamboj, Shardul Thakur, and Jasprit Bumrah. Batter Karun Nair, who was dropped for the Manchester Test last week, was brought back into the team. Jasprit Bumrah was rested due to workload concerns.

Gautam Gambhir, the Head Coach of the Indian cricket team, is facing criticism from fans and former players for his choices in the Playing XI for the important 5th Test against England at The Oval.

Despite having a good record in English conditions, Kuldeep Yadav was ignored. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has done well in domestic cricket, was also not picked. That is why Gambhir is facing criticism.

Also Read -Why are Jasprit Bumrah not playing today in ENG vs IND 5th Test at The Oval?

Kuldeep, Arshdeep Finish England Series Without Playing a Match

Kuldeep Yadav last played a Test in October 2024 during the series against New Zealand, after which he got injured. He returned to the squad in June but missed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to that injury. Even after coming back, the Indian team management decided not to include him in the playing XI for any of the five Tests against England. Many experts had suggested that Kuldeep should play, but captain Shubman Gill chose to go ahead with Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja as the two spin options.

Arshdeep Singh was almost set to make his Test debut in Manchester, but he suffered a hand injury while training for the 4th Test. He had to get stitches and was ruled out of the game. Anshul Kamboj was named as his replacement. Arshdeep had received his first call-up to the Test team for this tour. Before the 5th Test, captain Gill had said that Arshdeep had been told to “stay ready,” but it seems the team was not ready to give him a debut with the series still open.

Kuldeep Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran & Arshdeep Singh didint play a single game in this England Test series. pic.twitter.com/gDXcIuBycG

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 31, 2025

Abhimanyu Easwaran Ignored Despite Strong Record

Another name that fans missed was Abhimanyu Easwaran. The Bengal batter had a great domestic season, with scores like 127*, 191, 116, 157*, 200*, and more. In his first-class career, he has scored 7841 runs in 103 matches at an average of 48.70, with 27 centuries and 31 fifties. Despite this, he was not selected for a single game. Instead, the team backed Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan ahead of him.

Because of these decisions, head coach Gautam Gambhir is facing backlash. Fans and former players have criticised his choices. Some netizens wrote, "Inki kismat mein hi nahi hai khelna" (It’s just not in their fate to play). Another fan wrote, “Sack Gautam Gambhir with immediate effect.” Someone else commented, “Annoying as a player to not play even one Test match after doing all the preparation. Maybe they’ll get a chance in the home series.”