Kuldeep Yadav ODI record: Why is Yuzvendra Chahal not playing today’s 1st ODI between India and England in Pune?

Yuzvendra Chahal not playing: The home team has made as many as four changes to their Playing XI which played the last ODI in Australia last year.

During the first ODI of the ongoing England’s tour of India in Pune, England captain Eoin Morgan continued with his knack of winning the toss and inviting the opposition in to bat.

England, who are playing their first ODI since Australia’s tour of England in September 2020, have made three changes to their XI which had played their last ODI. A trio of all-rounders in Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran has come in for the likes of Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer, all of whom are not part of this 14-member squad.

India, on the other hand, have made as many as four changes to their Playing XI which had played the last ODI in Australia last year. For India, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and T. Natarajan have been replaced by Rohit Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Prasidh Krishna.

Why is Yuzvendra Chahal not playing the first Pune ODI?

Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who had been benched for Kuldeep Yadav in the third ODI at the SCG, continues to be benched. While captain Virat Kohli wasn’t asked about the rationale behind the same, it appears to be a case of the hosts wanting to give opportunities to Yadav.

Yadav, 25, has been with the national team across formats without getting many chances in the Playing XI in the recent past. Given his numbers, it is only fair to give him a few games to not further dent his confidence.

ALSO READ: Why is Rishabh Pant not playing today’s 1st ODI between India and England?

In 61 ODIs excluding the ongoing one, Yadav has picked 105 wickets at an average of 26.45, an economy rate of 5.12 and a strike rate of 30.9. Chahal, on the other hand, also has similar numbers with his 92 wickets in 54 ODIs coming at an average of 27.29, an economy rate of 5.20 and a strike rate of 31.4.