‘Definitely feel bad for yourself’: Kuldeep Yadav on India Test snubs

Kuldeep Yadav is no stranger to India snubs. The left-arm wrist spinner has often been at the centre of conversation after being left out of the playing XI, be it in Tests or T20Is.
He was omitted from India’s Test side against Sri Lanka after an indifferent start to the series in Galle last month. The 31-year-old was also left out of India’s T20I squad for the Afghanistan series and the Asian Games later this month.
Nevertheless, he has chosen to return to England and tasted fresh First-Class success. Kuldeep recorded his maiden First-Class 10-wicket match haul at Headingley recently, producing career-best innings figures of 6 for 50 in Yorkshire’s innings win over Essex.
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He did not get to play any of the five Tests in India’s tour of England last year. Asked about that omission and whether his latest 10-wicket haul was some sort of consolation, Kuldeep admitted to being disappointed when left out of the playing XI for all the matches.
“Sometimes you just have to go with the team combination or strategy, unfortunately or fortunately. Definitely you feel bad for yourself when you’re not playing, when you’re not part of the playing XI,” Kuldeep told South African broadcaster Neil Manthorp and former England fast bowler Steve Harmison in a talkSPORT interview.
“You want to play because when you are in the squad you want to play, but sometimes it doesn’t happen because of the whatever the management thinks… Last year, I was hoping to get a chance in a few games but it’s okay. Maybe next time,” he said.
The spinner added that he did not make the county return to prove a point to anyone, but had gone there to enjoy the cricket. He vowed to come back next season.
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“I personally feel it’s (English county experience) very good for batters and spinners. Obviously, you will see seaming conditions here and there, but you play here to get used to the challenges you face. You’re not going to face them back home because you grew up playing there and you know the conditions pretty well,” Kuldeep said.
“So you come here and face different challenges, different conditions. Some (pitches) are very dry here; if you go south side you’ll feel that there’s a dryness in the wicket. When you come (a) bit north, like Yorkshire, you’ll see a bit of cold,” he added.



