Why did Kuldeep Yadav miss IND vs AFG 1st ODI in Dharamsala?
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Kuldeep Yadav played the one-off Test against Afghanistan.
India are taking on Afghanistan in the opening ODI of the three-match series. The encounter is taking place at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
India aim to keep their winning record alive against their Asian rival. They have never lost an ODI against Afghanistan so far. On the other hand, Afghanistan aim for their first-ever ODI victory against India.
Indian skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to BOWL first in the encounter. Notably, Indian ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav is not part of the match. This is quite surprising as Yadav has been the frontline spinner for the Men in Blue in ODIs.
Why is Kuldeep Yadav absent from India vs Afghanistan 1st ODI?
Notably, Kuldeep Yadav has been overlooked for the clash, which was revealed by captain Shubman Gill at the toss. The reason behind Kuldeep’s exclusion might be his poor form.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Prince Yadav were also left out for the encounter. Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey have made their international debut in the clash.
Speaking at the toss, Gill said, “We don’t play that many ODIs anymore – leading up to the World Cup, we are only playing around 15 to 20 ODIs – so it’s all about trying different combinations and seeing what our strengths are. Now that it’s a 25-overs-a-side game, it is definitely a completely different ball game. But our team is unchanged. We are going with two debutants: Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey will make their debuts today. Jaiswal, Prince and Kuldeep miss out”.
“We’re going to bowl first. It’s a little overcast, so I think it will help the bowlers. There could also be some rain around the corner, so we want to bowl first. As for the surface, it looks very good. I think it’s going to be a good wicket to bat on. In the initial overs, there might be some seam movement, but after the breeze dies down, I think it’s going to be a really good wicket,” he added.
India’s Playing XI vs Afghanistan: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (WK), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.
Why is Kuldeep Yadav not part of IND vs AFG 1st ODI?
He has been overlooked for the encounter.
Who won the toss in IND vs AFG 1st ODI?
Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bowl first.
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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.