'It's our obsession with batting...'- R Ashwin slams India for underutilising Kuldeep Yadav

Ravichandran Ashwin heavily criticized Indian team management for not selecting Kuldeep Yadav for the ongoing 4th Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy at Old Trafford, Manchester. The former international directly questioned India's game plan in a crucial match. Ashwin, from one of his YouTube videos, explained why India should consider Kuldeep Yadav, who is absolutely fit and fine and in form, in the match. According to him, the character of the game has changed a lot.

Some extra runs from the lower order could not contribute much like before, as the nature of those English pitches is now more flattened. So, there is only extra firepower in the bowling department, which could only help the team in tough situations. Ashwin found no clue why Team India is so obsessed with their batting depth. 

"If somebody would have told me that Kuldeep Yadav will not be playing any part in the first four tests, I would have been very, very surprised. Unfortunately, it is our obsession with batting and looking for those 20-30 extra runs. Gone are those days in England; that advantage of 20-30 runs is gone. If your No. 7 makes 30 runs and your No. 8 makes 30 runs, you have an extra 60 runs. Earlier, that 60 runs used to be very useful, because bowlers used to get help from the pitch," Ashwin said.

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Why Shardul instead of Kuldeep? 

R Ashwin, who retired in December last year, questioned the decision about the inclusion of Shardul Thakur over Yadav. The former spinner reflected that if Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar bowl effectively in those conditions, then a spinner like Kuldeep, who has an attacking mindset, could contribute something. 

"If you are only planning to give Shardul Thakur this many overs and expect 20-30 runs from him. I love Shardul Thakur; I like him a lot, but if this is the usage point, why can't you consider Kuldeep Yadav? It is just blowing my head away. I know it seems against the grain because there are three spinners, but it is not that way; Jadeja is a specialist batter for you now. Washington Sundar is also batting well. When your bowlers can bat so well, why are you not bringing an attacking bowler?" Ashwin questioned.