Where does Kuldeep Yadav fit into India’s new conundrum?

Kuldeep Yadav (Photo by @BCCI on X) TimesofIndia.com in Mullanpur: On the eve of the one-off Test against Afghanistan, Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has categorically stated that either Manav Suthar or Harsh Dubey will be the fourth player for the two-match series against Sri Lanka scheduled for August this year.Suthar, who eventually got the nod ahead of Dubey, took seven wickets, including six in the first innings at New Chandigarh. He also scored a valuable 28 with the bat, which batting coach Sitanshu Kotak described as “satisfying” as he praised the debutant after India’s torrid innings and 300-run win.With Ravindra Jadeja rested in this Test and set to return for the Sri Lanka series, Washington Sundar cementing his place as an all-rounder in the playing XI and now Suthar’s rise, the biggest question is: where does that leave Kuldeep Yadav?The team management doesn’t seem to have much faith in Kuldeep’s batting. The wrist spinner did not play a single Test in England, where the pitches were arguably better suited to his style of bowling.

Kuldeep Yadav’s Test Cricket Numbers. (Image: TimesofIndia.com)

It is no secret that players with multi-dimensional skills are preferred under coach Gautam Gambhir. Examples include Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana who have flourished in this mode as they provide extra depth to the batting.Kuldeep may not be a walking wicket in Tests, but more than his batting, his bowling has looked worrying at home. Since missing England, he has played five Tests and picked up 23 wickets. Yet he often failed to make a decisive impact.In Guwahati against South Africa, where Simon Harmer took nine wickets, Kuldeep took four wickets in the first innings, conceding nearly four runs in the overs before going wicketless in the second innings, where he bowled 12 overs.

How other Indian spinners have fared since Kuldeep Yadav’s Test debut. (Image: TimesofIndia.com)

Even against Afghanistan, where one would expect him to run through an inexperienced batting line-up, the 31-year-old lacked penetration. He went wicketless in his 10 overs in the first innings. He did get between the wickets in the second innings, but two of his three scalps were tailenders.Kuldeep has already been dropped from India’s T20I squad for the upcoming series against Ireland and England. He played just one match in the 2026 T20 World Cup, ahead of Varun Chakravarthy, and now Ravi Bishnoi seems to have moved forward in the pecking order. Kuldeep also endured an underwhelming IPL campaign, managing just 10 wickets in 12 games while conceding more than 10 runs per over.

How the trajectory of Kuldeep Yadav’s Test career has changed in nine years. (Image: TimesofIndia.com)

Overall, Kuldeep’s Test career has been a curious one. He has played 18 Tests so far, six each under Ravi Shastri, Rahul Dravid and now Gautam Gambhir. During the 2019 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, following Kuldeep’s five-wicket haul at the SCG, Shastri famously declared him India’s “No. 1 front-line overseas spinner”.However, he soon dropped out of the pecking order as Jadeja was preferred for his batting ability. He never enjoyed an extended run at home with R Ashwin and Jadeja terrorizing opposition batting line-ups. And then Axar Patel also emerged as an option ahead of the Chinese.Now Kuldeep finds himself at a crossroads again.