 "Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel slam Team India over Kuldeep's exclusion in Australia ODIs: ‘Focus should be on playing best combination’")
Former Indian cricketers Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel and Varun Aaron have slammed the Team India management and coach Gautam Gambhir for keeping Kuldeep Yadav out of the first ODIs against Australia after the Men In Blue succumbed to a 2-0 series defeat on Thursday. Fighting to stay alive in the series, India gave Australia a late scare in the 265-run chase, but suffered a narrow two-wicket win in the end.
India had lost the first ODI by 7 wickets after the match was reduced to 26 overs per side due to rain. The major reasons behind their struggle in Australia have been a lack of big runs from the top-order and their inability to pick wickets in the middle-overs.
While Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli are yet to find their form, the absence of Kuldeep Yadav, who was the highest wicket-taker in the Asia Cup 2025 winning campaign, from the playing XI has hurt India’s chances to take wickets at crucial stages.
Pathan, Patel slam Team India over Kuldeep’s exclusion
Former India all-rounder Pathan felt that the visitors would have won the second ODI at Adelaide if Kuldeep was a part of the playing XI.
“Kuldeep Yadav was must for this game. Things could have been different had he been there but the onus is on the batters to score more runs. Losing 2 wickets in the power play regularly won’t help the cause. Cooper Connolly is surely the one for the future for Australia,” Pathan said on X.
Kuldeep Yadav was must for this game. Things could have been different had he been there but onus is on batters to score more runs. Losing 2 wickets in the power play regularly won’t help the cause. Cooper Connolly is surely the one for the future for Australia.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 23, 2025
Impact Shorts
More ShortsParthiv Patel and Varun Aaron also shared similar sentiments as they advocated for Kuldeep’s inclusion in the ODI team while talking to Star Sports.
“We will definitely see Kuldeep Yadav playing in the third ODI. As far as the combination is concerned, India will have to trust their top order, whether it’s about performance or runs and stick with the right balance. There’s no need for an extra cushion in batting," Parthiv Patel said.
“Kuldeep Yadav can provide those crucial wickets in the middle overs that India has been missing. If your top-order batters get out early, that’s part of the game. You can’t keep adding more batters to cover for that. The focus should be on playing the best combination to win," he added.
Aaron says Kuldeep is a match-winning spinner
Former pacer Aaron believed that Kuldeep should have been a part of the India playing XI from the first ODI, as he is a match-winning bowler.
“Kuldeep Yadav should have come in from game one. You will have to sacrifice a batsman. Obviously, you can’t play two fast bowlers in Australia. That’s that. That would be a no-go. But Kuldeep is somebody who will get you wickets. He will make up for those runs which you didn’t score. And also, the moment you have one batter short, I feel batsmen in general would take more responsibility on themselves and try to dig in deeper because they know they don’t have that cushion at the back,” he said.
“It’s not that India have never played with seven batters before. They have in the past, and I think Kuldeep would be a great addition because he would get you wickets in the middle. And today again, India were depending on the batsmen to make mistakes, rather than to get wickets in the middle. But they didn’t really get the batsman out, if that makes sense. They’re two very different things.”
It will be interesting to see if Kuldeep is added to the playing XI for the third ODI at Sydney. However, his inclusion could lead to Nitish Reddy dropping to the bench.
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