"He is so unlucky to be Indian" - Twitter reacts to Kuldeep Yadav missing out yet again for the sake of batting depth in IND vs ENG 1st Test  

Team India left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav is not part of the playing XI for the first Test against England at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Although skipper Rohit Sharma termed the promising spinner as a tempting option to partner alongside Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, it is Axar Patel, with his batting ability, who makes it into the team as the third spinner.

Kuldeep Yadav's last Test appearance came during the tour of Bangladesh in late 2022, where he picked up eight wickets to drive India to a series win. While he has dethroned several of his peers to become the first-choice spinner in white-ball formats, red-ball cricket continues to elude him.

With the duo of Ashwin and Jadeja still running the show in home conditions and Team India playing only one spinner in most of the overseas Tests, Kuldeep Yadav has to keep waiting for a chance.

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma spoke about the difficult decision to bench Kuldeep Yadav for Axar Patel during the toss in Hyderabad.

"It was a tough one (to leave out Kuldeep Yadav). Axar has done well and bats really well in these conditions. Probably the reason we went with Axar," Rohit Sharma said after England won the toss and elected to bat first

Axar Patel was instrumental during the last home series that India played against Australia in 2023. The left-handed all-rounder particularly stepped up with the bat down the order as India secured a 2-1 win. Furthermore, he was also heavily among the wickets the last time England toured India in 2021. The batters struggled to read his deliveries, with the arm arguably causing more damage than the deliveries that turned.

The fans had their say after Team India opted to bench Kuldeep Yadav yet again. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:

Kuldeep Yadav has only played eight Tests since his debut in 2017

The left-arm wrist spinner made his debut in the final Test of the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and made an instant impression with four wickets in his very first outing. However, since 2019, he has only played three Tests, and his last red-ball appearance at home came against England in Chennai, three years ago.

Overall, the spinner has taken 34 wickets in eight Tests at an average of 21.56 and an economy rate of 3.44.

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (WK), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack Leach

India (Playing XI): Rohit Shama (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (WK), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

Will the left-arm spinner get a chance at some stage in the marathon five-match series? Let us know what you think.