His chances look dim – Reetinder Sodhi on Kuldeep Yadav making the cut into the T20 World Cup squad

Former Indian all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi believes Kuldeep Yadav’s chances of making the cut into India’s T20 World Cup squad look dim. Yadav hasn’t been able to grab his chances in the recent past and he might be overlooked in the T20I showpiece by the Chetan Sharma-led selection panel.

Yadav had a good outing in the third ODI against Zimbabwe as he scalped two wickets and conceded only 38 runs in his quota of 10 overs. However, the left-arm chinaman spinner went wicketless in the first ODI against Zimbabwe while he was expensive in the second game as he conceded 49 runs and could only take a wicket.

In fact, Yadav hasn’t been getting consistent chances in the recent past, especially in the T20 format. The spinner from Uttar Pradesh had a decent run in the IPL 2022 as he had scalped 21 wickets in 14 matches while playing for Delhi Capitals. However, India might back spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal ahead of him.

Reetinder Singh Sodhi said while talking to India News Sports, “Kuldeep Yadav needed to perform exceptionally well on this tour to win the hearts of the selectors. He did bowl well in this match, but he has to be more consistent. He will be a little disappointed as he could have done better.

“It remains to be seen if he gets a call-up for the T20 World Cup, but at the moment, his chances look a bit dim.”

On the other hand, Sodhi feels the Indian pacers struggled when they were put under pressure by the Zimbabwean batters. Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, and Avesh Khan were all on the expensive side in the third ODI against the hosts.

“Indian pacers didn’t bowl yorkers during the death overs. Shardul Thakur did bowl a few slower deliveries towards the end, otherwise even that variation seemed to be missing. We could see the inexperience of the three seamers.

“Zimbabwe doesn’t have a very strong batting lineup, but despite that they struggled when they were under pressure.”

India had skittled out Zimbabwe for only 189 and 161 in the first two ODI matches and former Punjab cricketer added that there was no need to hit the blockhole in these two matches.

“There was no need to bowl yorkers in the first two games as the bowlers were getting wickets easily due to the favorable conditions. This was the first time that the Indian pacers were under pressure in this series. They weren’t able to hit the right lengths during that time.”

India will now take part in the Asia Cup, which will begin on the 27th of August.