"No regrets whatsoever" - Virat Kohli on leaving out Kuldeep Yadav

Virat Kohli has stated that he won't ponder upon leaving out left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the first Test against England in Chennai. The Indian skipper also gave the reason as to why the 26-year-old was excluded.

In a post-match video conference, Kohli explained that since the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar turned the ball into the right-hander, Kuldeep would have provided a similar attribute.

Hence, the Indian team management preferred the left-arm off-spin of Shahbaz Nadeem.

Kuldeep Yadav has played only six Tests in his career so far, picking up 24 wickets. He played his last Test in January 2019 and is still waiting for his next opportunity. His wrist spin could have proved crucial on a Chennai pitch that was great for batting.

"When you are playing two off-spinners, Kuldeep Yadav more or less becomes a similar kind of spinner taking the ball away. So you need variety in the bowling attack. We were quite clear on what combination we wanted to play and there are no regrets whatsoever on that decision," Virat Kohli said.

"We will think about combinations that bring variety to our bowling attack" - Virat Kohli

Team India had to play Washington Sundar in the absence of Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja

Virat Kohli had mentioned in a video conference before the series that Kuldeep Yadav would get consistent chances while playing at home. Thus, a few eyebrows were raised when he didn't feature in the hosts' playing XI.

However, a knee injury to left-arm spinner Axar Patel might have forced the Indian team management to play Washington Sundar because of his batting ability.

Kohli said that if Kuldeep had been picked, all three spinners would have made the attack one-dimensional.

"Moving forward, we will think about combinations that bring variety to our bowling attack, and not one dimensional where the ball is turning away from the bat. So these things are very important to understand," the 32-year-old asserted.

England have made a huge statement with their emphatic 227-run win over India in their own backyard. Virat Kohli will surely be hoping for an apt response from his men.

Well done @englandcricket for winning the first test of this series. For team India we need to play Kuldeep in the next game #INDvsENG

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) February 9, 2021

Team India will need to win at least two out of the remaining three Tests and avoid defeat to qualify for the World Test Championship Final.

It remains to be seen whether the hosts can repeat their come-from-behind heroics from the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.