India head coach Rahul Dravid's ‘dirty mind' was exposed after he decided to exclude spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI against Bangladesh in the second Test in Dhaka on Thursday.
It is pertinent to note that Kuldeep Yadav was the Man of the Match in the previous Test, having accomplished a five-wicket haul in the first essay before sending three more Bangladesh batters back to the pavilion in the next innings.
Moreover, Kuldeep Yadav contributed with the bat as well, scoring a vital 40 runs in India's first innings. In the second Test, Kuldeep Yadav made way for Jaydev Unadkat, who returned to the Indian cricket team after a gap of 12 years.
Rahul Dravid's decision to drop Kuldeep Yadav didn't please Team India's supporters as they declared the move as “bizarre”.
However, it was a cricket admirer's tweet that stood out as he accused Rahul Dravid of having a “dirty mind” and even compared him to Australia's Greg Chappell who was the coach of the Indian cricket team during the 2000s.
Greg Chappell's era is regarded as a dark period in the history of Indian cricket and his arrival led to a huge rift between him and then captain Sourav Ganguly which eventually resulted in the former's removal as skipper before being ousted from the side altogether. India subsequently suffered a shock exit from the 2007 ODI World Cup after losing to Bangladesh.
“This is where Rahul Dravid tenure will be remembered as black period for Indian cricket. He was a useless captain and as dirty minded as Greg Chappell no wonder people like him took cricket backwards in 2007,” the fan wrote on Twitter.
I think most notorious & dirty mindset criminal in Indian cricket is Rahul Dravid & KL Rahul.They are evil.They shd be punished so hard that they never get chance in Indian cricket in any manner ever. Injustice to Kuldeep. @BCCI #KLRahul #kuldeepyadav #BCCI #INDvsAUS #BANvIND
— Sandip (@Solonisko) December 22, 2022
Even the 1983 World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar panned captain KL Rahul and Rahul Dravid, terming the decision as “unbelievable”.
“Dropping a Man of the Match, that is unbelievable. That’s the only word I can use and it’s a gentle word. I would like to use quite stronger words, but it’s unbelievable that you left out a man of the match, who got eight out of the 20 wickets,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.
“You have got two other spinners. So surely, one of the other spinners could have been dropped. But this guy, who took eight wickets should have played today with due respect to what the pitch looks like,” the legendary India batter added.
The move was heavily criticized by former India pacer Dodda Ganesh who dubbed the decision as “shocking” and “ridiculous at the same time.
“Why does this happen so often to Kuldeep Yadav? You can't be doing this to him again and again. Please some one put an arm around his shoulder and tell him not to lose heart. Yes. It's tough being Kuldeep Yadav. Spare a thought for him,” Dodda Ganesh said on Twitter.
“Also the way the Bangladeshis struggled to pick him in the last Test makes this decision to leave him out today even more senseless and defies cricketing logic. You want your match-winner to warm the benches?” Dodda Ganesh questioned.
“I guess the think tank needs to be a bit more considerate while dealing with the youngsters who've done well; and tinker the team combo accordingly. Last time they dropped Karun (Nair) after his 303 not out to play an extra seamer at Hyderabad. And now this, with Kuldeep Yadav. Shocking. Ridiculous,” he noted.
On the other hand, former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra dubbed the decision of excluding Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI as “strange”.
“Man of the match in India's last Test victory just 3 days ago, Kuldeep Yadav makes way for Jaydev Unadkat as a third seamer for India. Strange but a tactical change,” Anjum Chopra posted on the microblogging platform.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav's India teammate Umesh Yadav defended the team management's decision, claiming that the move to drop the wrist spinner was taken after taking into account the side's requirements.
“It's part of your journey. It happened to me also. Sometimes you are out of the team because of performance and sometimes it's a management's call. You have to go with the team's requirements,” Umesh Yadav told reporters in Dhaka after the close of play on Day 1.
“It's good for him (Kuldeep) that he came back and performed well (in the first Test in Chattogram),” Umesh Yadav stressed.
Despite Rahul Dravid's controversial choice to leave out Kuldeep Yadav, KL Rahul and his boys were in the driver's seat on Day 1 as they bowled out Bangladesh for 227, thanks to four-wicket hauls of Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav. The Indian batters then ensured that there were no hiccups during their brief stay at the crease as the Indians were 19 for no loss at stumps.
Follow Us
Subscribe