Why is Kuldeep Yadav not playing ENG vs IND 1st ODI?
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Kuldeep Yadav played in the previous ODI series against Afghanistan in June.
The 1st ODI between India and England got underway on July 14 (Tuesday) at Edgbaston. The Men in Blue aim for a big comeback in the three-match series after facing a whitewash in the five-match T20I series recently.
In the ENG vs IND 1st ODI, Harry Brook won the toss and opted to bat first. While England announced their playing XI a day ahead of the match on Monday, Indian captain Shubman Gill revealed the team at the toss.
Notably, key spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been benched in the 1st ODI against England. He played in the previous ODI series against Afghanistan. He was only picked in the 2nd game, in which he remained wicketless.
Why is Kuldeep Yadav not part of the ENG vs IND 1st ODI?
The orthodox spinner has been overlooked for the encounter. India have opted for spin all-rounders instead of Kuldeep in the Edgbaston clash. Hence, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel are the two spinners in the playing XI. Gurnoor Brar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Prasidh Krishna will lead the pace attack.
Kuldeep has struggled to impress with his performance in the ODIs this year. In the three-match series against New Zealand in January, he could only get 3 wickets, one in each encounter. He could not get any wickets in the only ODI match he played against Afghanistan last month.
After losing the toss, Indian skipper Gill revealed that they were looking to bowl first as well. “Actually, we’re looking to bowl first. (On India’s preparation) Well, I think most of the boys have been playing the T20s and the rest of the boys we got a bit of rest, I had a bit of training. Got here a couple of days before, so we were practicing. So the environment, the vibe has been really good,” he said.
The 26-year-old also added that he was excited to lead the team once again in England. Last year, he led the team to a 2-2 draw in a five-match Test series.
“Yeah, very excited for the series, have some really good memories in this venue particularly. So hopefully we’re going to add into that. [On the playing XI] So apart from the usual, we have got four seamers, with Dube and then we’ve got two spinners, Axar [Patel] and Washington [Sundar],” he added.
India’s playing XI vs England: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna.
Who won the toss in the ENG vs IND 1st ODI?
England won the toss and opted to bat first in the clash.
Why is Kuldeep Yadav not part of the ENG vs IND 1st ODI?
India have opted for spin all-rounders like Axar Patel and Washington Sundar in the playing XI. Hence, Kuldeep has been overlooked for the clash.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.