India's Kuldeep Yadav and Sanju Samson (ANI Photo)
Chennai: Kuldeep Yadav often finds himself outside the Team India playing XI after an odd bad day in office. Indian spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin feels the treatment meted out to the left-arm wrist spinner is often “unfair”.“Kuldeep has produced results over the years and it is unfair to pin the blame on one bowler when conditions are against him. He hasn’t been the go-to option under this management, which is unfortunate,” Ashwin said, referring to Kuldeep being dropped after conceding 1-53 in West Indies’ chase of 250 in the second T20I in Ranchi.
“With
Hardik Pandya
not yet back, I expect Varun Chakravarthy to get the nod ahead of Kuldeep (in New Zealand), though it will be interesting to see how he returns from his side strain,” Ashwin added.The veteran also expressed concern that India could once again gravitate towards a combination that prioritises batting depth over specialist bowling options.“If we have
Ravindra Jadeja
and
Washington Sundar
around, we might see India leave out an attacking spin option. I hope not, but that could again be the direction we take,” he said.If India opt for four frontline seamers, Ashwin believes the emphasis must be on picking genuine wicket-takers rather than compromising the attack for lower-order batting depth.(Watch India’s tour of New Zealand live and exclusive on Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV starting October 22, 2026.)