Rahul Dravid's ‘shameful act' of dropping Kuldeep Yadav from the Indian cricket team that took on Bangladesh in the second Test at Dhaka invited a flurry of memes on social media on Thursday.

Interestingly, 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.

Some even claimed it was Rahul Dravid's ‘dirty mind' that decided to exclude spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI in Mirpur because such a move could only be backed by a mindless person and not by someone who has played 164 Tests and 344 ODIs.

While others demanded his removal as the coach of the Indian cricket team because he had no clue whatsoever about the side's composition.

Another set of his critics 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.

 

Rahul Dravid's choice came under fire from many former cricketers too.

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.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
MS Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings, CSK, IPL, Indian Premier League, Lucknow Super Giants, LSG, India, Indian Cricket Team,

Pawan Atri ·

MS Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings, CSK, IPL, Indian Premier League, Lucknow Super Giants, LSG, India, Indian Cricket Team,

Pawan Atri ·

Virat Kohli, T20 World Cup, Indian Cricket Team, Rohit Sharma, Simon Doull, India,

Pawan Atri ·

The decision left India great Harbhajan Singh fuming.

“I think from now on, Kuldeep should stop taking five-wicket hauls. Who knows that he might just get to play two Test matches in a row!” Harbhajan Singh said in an interaction with PTI.

“Like last time when he got a five-for, before Chattogram Test, was against Australia in Sydney (5/99) in different conditions. He was supposed to be India's No. 1 spinner in overseas conditions but he had to wait for more than two years to play a Test.

“Now he played after nearly two years again and has been dropped again. Would love to know the rationale,” he added.

“I don't want to name any player but some of the players in the Test set-up got a long rope, up to five years. In case of Kuldeep, it seems that the duration of his security is five days.

“How does one feel safe if he gets dropped after taking eight wickets. Can he play fearless cricket when all that the team management has done is to instill fear in him?” the India bowling legend questioned.

“You can never perform if there is a sword hanging over your head. I only hope that Kuldeep doesn't lose confidence because of this as he is someone who should be serving India for another good 8-10 years,” Harbhajan Singh signed off.