Rohit Sharma reveals why Kuldeep Yadav has been rested for first two ODIs against Australia

Kuldeep Yadav was recently adjudged the Player of the Series in India's Asia Cup 2023 title win.

India captain Rohit Sharma and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, on September 18, 2023, announced the India squads for the three-match ODI series against Australia. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, and Hardik Pandya have been rested for the first two ODIs, with KL Rahul leading the Men in Blue.

India will play three ODIs against Australia on September 22, 24, and 27 in Mohali, Indore and Rajkot respectively. The third and last ODI, which will be India's final bilateral match before the ICC World Cup 2023 starts, however, sees the return of all the major guns.

Kuldeep Yadav was the Player of the Series in the recently concluded Asia Cup tournament, where he picked 9 wickets in 6 matches. He returned an average of 11.44 and an economy of 3.61.

BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, who worked with Kuldeep in the Delhi Capitals franchise, spoke of the virtues that make Kuldeep a vital cog in India's World Cup wheel.

"I spent a couple of years with him, he is a guy who has a special skillset. Every player needs to be shown faith, and given a bit of confidence, which the team management has done and it is showing on the field. In various conditions and against varied opposition, he is one of the trump cards for the team. I'm happy and excited about what he is doing. Most teams coming up against him find it a challenge, and where he is at, all of us are excited at what lies ahead,” Agarkar said in a presser.

All the 9 wickets came across two games; he began with a five-for against Pakistan in India's record 228-run win and then followed that up with four wickets in India's spirited defense of a modest 213 against Sri Lanka.

“This is the best decision for us”- Rohit Sharma on resting Kuldeep Yadav for first two ODIs vs Australia

Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma revealed the reason behind resting Kuldeep Yadav for the first two ODIs against Australia and said that the Indian team management is doing all it can to "preserve" their lone wrist-spinner in the squad, and not "expose" him much against Australia.

"Kuldeep is a rhythm bowler, we all know that. But we thought of a lot of things and took this call. His bowling is going well, like Ajit [Agarkar] said, we had to give players a chance, especially those who played just one game at the Asia Cup and are in the World Cup squad.

We have been looking at Kuldeep for the last one, and a half years, this is why we don't want to expose him a lot. He is coming back for the last match. There are a lot of reasons. This is the best decision for us, to have him sit out for two games and play the third. We also have two practice matches [before the World Cup opener], so for the bowling rhythm, he will be back in it,” Rohit said in the same presser.

Kuldeep Yadav completed his 150 ODI wickets in 89 games with a best of 6/25.