3 reasons why India dropping Kuldeep Yadav for 2nd IND vs NZ 2024 Test is the wrong move

Team India reacted to their shocking defeat in the opening Test against New Zealand with wholesome changes for the second game in Pune. While the moves to replace KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj with Shubman Gill and Akash Deep raised some eyebrows, dropping Kuldeep Yadav for Washington Sundar was perhaps the biggest surprise.

Faced with the task of avoiding a first home Test series defeat in over a decade, the move was termed as one done out of panic by the on-air commentators during the first session on the opening morning. While India may end up bouncing back from the opening Test defeat, Kuldeep has reason to be disappointed.

Despite debuting in Tests in 2017, the 29-year-old has played only 13 matches with India often finding a way to exclude him from the side without giving a continued run of games.

Yet, without dwelling much into the past, we look at three reasons why Kuldeep's dropping for the second New Zealand Test was the wrong move.

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#1 The Bengaluru Test was too much of an aberration to derive conclusions

Indian management likely looked at the first Test in Bengaluru to exclude Kuldeep Yadav for the ongoing Pune encounter against New Zealand. While his performance wasn't as impressive with match figures of 3/125, several variables played their part.

The track was as alien as they get on Indian soil with seam movement through the game and little help for the spinners. As unimpressive as Kuldeep's figures look, he was arguably India's best spinner by numbers compared to Ravichandran Ashwin's 1/100 and Ravindra Jadeja's 3/100.

Additionally, India was immediately on the backfoot after being bowled out in the first session for 46 in their first innings. They were left to play catch-up from that point and the bowlers, especially the spinners could never build pressure on the Kiwi batters.

All this makes the Bengaluru Test an aberration from several angles, yet dropping Kuldeep based on a mediocre showing in the clash looks like a knee-jerk reaction.

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#2 India lose a point of difference in their spin arsenal

India v New Zealand - 1st Test - Source: Getty

Kuldeep Yadav remains the lone wrist spinner in the Indian squad, yet the side took the field with only finger spinners despite playing three spinners. While Washington Sundar's inclusion on his current form is acceptable, the lack of variety in their spin department is palpable.

Sundar is almost a replica of Ravichandran Ashwin - a tall off-spinner with consistent line and length. Their third finger spinner, Ravindra Jadeja, offers the left-arm angle but is another one that lacks the mystery element like Kuldeep.

The variety factor aside, Kuldeep is also better at producing wickets out of nowhere when there isn't much happening off the wicket due to most batters' difficulties picking his deliveries.

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#3 Kuldeep's bowling record at home warranted another opportunity

As bad as the Bengaluru Test was all the Indian spinners, including Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm chinaman bowler deserved a continued run based on his home record.

Even with the first New Zealand Test, the 29-year-old averages a sensational 23.39 in nine Tests at home with 38 wickets. Kuldeep also boasts two five-wicket hauls in Tests in India and had gone wicketless only thrice in 16 innings.

In the most recent series he played before the ongoing New Zealand affair, Kuldeep's inclusion proved to be the difference between a convincing Indian victory and a tricky tussle.

Rohit Sharma's men suffered a stunning defeat in the series opener against England in Hyderabad with Kuldeep not part of the lineup.

However, once drafted into the 11, the wily spinner bamboozled the English batters with 19 wickets in the next four Tests to help India overcome a 0-1 deficit with a 4-1 victory.

Furthermore, before the first New Zealand Test, Kuldeep had picked up 11 wickets in his last three innings at Ranchi and Dharamsala - further evidence of why his dropping for the ongoing second Test remains baffling.