Indian Kuldeep Yadav (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned the way Kuldeep Yadav has been managed in recent months, describing the left-arm pacer’s situation as “strange” and comparing it to the support he received under the team’s previous management.Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Ashwin pointed out the difference in approach among the leadership group
Rahul Dravid
and
Rohit Sharma
The current setting is led
Gautam Gambhir
. He said Kuldeep has flourished when he has had a consistent run in the team and repeatedly produced match-winning performances.
During Dravid’s tenure as head coach from November 2021 to June 2024, with Rohit leading the team across formats for most of that period, Kuldeep appeared in six Tests, 38 ODIs and 17 T20Is.
Since Gambhir’s appointment, the spinner has played six Tests, 17 ODIs and 14 T20Is.Despite remaining in the mix across formats, Kuldeep has endured a frustrating spell. He played just one match during India’s victorious 2026 T20 World Cup campaign, with Varun Chakaravarthy preferred ahead of him. Recently, he was left out of the squads for the upcoming T20I tours of England and Ireland, with Ravi Bishnoi selected instead.
“The way Kuldeep Yadav has been dealt with is strange,” Ashwin said on ESPNcricinfo. “Kuldeep, when he last managed the team with Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma, was well supported, and everyone saw the proof of that when he was putting in match-winning performances. But again in the last 18 months, Kuldeep finds himself with a lot of question marks.”Ashwin admitted that Kuldeep’s IPL 2026 campaign did little to strengthen his cause.
The spinner managed just 10 wickets and conceded runs at a career-worst economy rate of 10.30. However, he retained his place in India’s Test set-up and was selected for the ongoing one-off Test against Afghanistan.The veteran spinner believes Kuldeep now needs to fully embrace the red-ball format and use Test cricket as a platform to strengthen his position.“Test cricket should now be his priority and he should take up that,” Ashwin said.Ashwin also weighed in on Ravi Bishnoi’s return to the T20I team. The leg-spinner was part of India’s plans ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup and featured in the series against New Zealand leading up to the tournament. However, his recall has raised eyebrows given his mediocre IPL campaign.Bishnoi played only nine matches
Rajasthan Royals
During IPL 2026, he took 11 wickets at an economy rate of 9.88 before eventually losing his place in the playing XI.Ashwin spoke about how quickly fortunes in international cricket are changing. He pointed out that Bishnoi himself was dropped in favor of Kuldeep in December 2023 despite being rated as the No. 1 T20I bowler in the world at that time. Over the next year, Bishnoi gradually slid down the pecking order as the rise of Varun Chakaravarthy and the all-round value of Axar Patel reshaped India’s spin options.“So what goes around comes around. He didn’t have a great IPL, and on the back of not playing the back half of the IPL, he’s back in the T20 setup.
These are circular calls in many ways. “But Ravi Bishnoi version 2.0 needs to emerge because he is missing his height now more than he should and he has to rediscover his magic,” Ashwin said.Ashwin’s comments highlight the intense competition among India’s bowlers, with both Kuldeep and Bishnoi finding themselves on opposite sides of selection calls at different stages of their careers. While Kuldeep looks to re-establish himself through Test cricket, Bishnoi now has another chance to prove his worth in the shortest possible time.