Why is Kuldeep Yadav not playing in today’s 3rd ODI vs West Indies?

Dixit Bhargav | 14/08/2019
Why is Kuldeep Yadav not playing in today's 3rd ODI vs West Indies?

Kuldeep Yadav not playing in today’s 3rd ODI: India have not included their chinaman bowler for the third ODI against West Indies.

During the third ODI of the ongoing India’s tour of West Indies at Port of Spain, India have not included chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav into their Playing XI. With India already 1-0 up in the series, they would be hoping for this decision to aid them in remaining their unbeaten streak on this tour.

In the two ODIs that Yadav has played in the series, he has been India’s second-best bowler. His three wickets have come at an average of 20.66, an economy rate of 5.16 and a strike rate of 24.

Kuldeep Yadav not playing in today’s 3rd ODI

It was during the toss that India captain Virat Kohli announced the solitary change which India have made for the last ODI. The skipper also announced that leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been included in place of Yadav.

“Not a bad thing at all [losing the toss], the toss is not in your control mostly. It’s an opportunity to come out here and execute our skill-sets and our plans on a pitch that is going to be challenging.

“We spoke about in the last game, how just after a mini break or a drink break, we lost our way with the bat and as well as in the field. So, we need to be professional as a team,” Kohli was quoted as saying during the toss.

While Kohli didn’t reveal the reason behind dropping Yadav, The Sportsrush understands that it has mainly been done to give Chahal a chance in this series. The 29-year old cricketer is only part of the ODI squad for this tour.

It is worth mentioning that today is the first time when Kohli has lost a toss on this tour. It was West Indies captain Jason Holder who won the toss and chose to bat. West Indies have made a couple of changes to their squad. Fast bowlers Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas have been benched in place of Fabian Allen and Keemo Paul.

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
India India tour of West Indies 2019 kuldeep yadav West Indies

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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