Shortly after Kuldeep Yadav was dropped from the AUS vs IND 3rd T20I in Hobart, he is called back to India. The selection committee has decided to add Yadav to the India A squad, who will be facing South Africa for the four-day match starting on November 6.
Details of India’s tour of Australia 2025
This decision comes on the back of the poor form of the left-arm spinner. He did not bowl in the first T20I in Canberra. In the Melbourne match, Yadav managed two wickets but leaked 45 runs.
The statement reads, “The Indian team management has requested to release Kuldeep Yadav from the ongoing T20I series in Australia to allow him to participate in the India A series against South Africa A at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The decision has been taken to provide Kuldeep with red-ball game time in preparation for the upcoming IDFC First Bank two-match Test series against South Africa.”
Earlier, he played only one out of the three ODIs in Australia. His figures of 10-0-50-1 are unimpressive for a bowler of his calibre.
Preparing the 30-year-old ahead of the South Africa series could be a good decision, but his participation in the T20 World Cup 2026 now hangs in the balance.
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Yadav has been inconsistent across the three formats, and the unpredictable decision for the playing XI line-ups has only added to his woes.
Starting with the shortest format, in 2025, Yadav has played in the Asia Cup and the two T20Is in Australia. In eight matches, he has 19 wickets at an economy of seven. In the final against Pakistan, the wirst-spinner took a four-wicket haul, but gave away 30 runs.
During the England home series, Yadav took two wickets but leaked 80+ runs across two ODIs. In the Champions Trophy, he showed flashes of brilliance, but his non-economical overs take away his effectiveness as a permanent member in the playing XI. His best ODI spell of 3/40 this year came in the multinational event against Pakistan, in Dubai.
Yadav’s issues continue in the longest format. He was part of the five-match England Test series, however, he was benched throughout the tour despite some turning tracks which would’ve been favourable for spinners. In 2025, Yadav has played only two home Tests against the West Indies. And his stats couldn’t be any different. In the first Test, he registered figures of 2/25 and 2/23, followed by 5/82 and 3/104 in the second match. He bagged the Player of the Match trophy for his five-for, but looking at the scorecard, he had the highest economy rate.
India have often preferred the likes of Washington Sundar, Axar Patel in place of Kuldeep Yadav to give the team an extra batting option at No.8. While the choices may have backfired at times, Yadav hasn’t made a compelling case with his recent performances.
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.
Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Kuldeep Yadav.
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