No Ashwin or Jadeja, but Kuldeep Yadav is backing India’s new spin unit for the Mullanpur Test

The upcoming one-off Test match between India and Afghanistan at Mullanpur, New Chandigarh marks the dawn of a fascinating new era for the home team. For the first time in over fifteen years, the Indian Test team will travel to home soil without their two legendary offshoots, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Ashwin called time on his illustrious career amid the intense Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of Australia during the 2024-25 season. Meanwhile, Jadeja has been ruled out of this particular match due to an unfortunate injury he sustained during the recently concluded Indian Premier League season.

To find the last time India played a home Test without any icon, you have to go back to November 2010 against New Zealand in Nagpur, a match where Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha led the spin department. Now the responsibility falls on a new generation.

LEADING THE NEW PACKAGE

While the massive void left by the veteran duo will be incredibly difficult to fill, Kuldeep Yadav is ready to embrace his new role as the statesman of the bowling attack. If selected for the clash starting this Saturday, it will be the first time in Kuldeep’s Test career that he will feature without the reassuring presence of Ashwin or Jadeja by his side.

The left-arm spinner openly acknowledged that the absence of regular red-ball stars like Jadeja and the omitted Axar Patel will be felt in the dressing room. However, he expressed immense confidence in the fresh faces selected for promotion to the top level.

“Yes, Jaddu bhai is not there because he is a regular Test player,” said Kuldeep. “We will also miss Axar Patel in the Test match. But the preparations have been good. Many youngsters are here like Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar. Washington Sundar is also playing Test cricket quite regularly now, so he is well settled in the set-up.”

READY FOR UNIT

Although Dubey and Suthar are complete newcomers to the international scene, Kuldeep insists that the lack of Test caps will not hamper their performance. He pointed out that India’s home structure and tour programs ensure that the budding players are thoroughly prepared for the rigors of five-day cricket.

“Over the last two years, these young players have been part of the India A tour,” explained Kuldeep. “They also play the Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy regularly. So maybe there will be a lack of international experience, but in terms of preparation, match awareness or red-ball cricket, they are absolutely on top because they play regularly.”

With Afghanistan being very good spin in its own right, the Mullanpur pitch will provide an interesting battleground. For Kuldeep and his young disciples, this is a unique opportunity to prove that the future of Indian spin bowling remains in incredibly safe hands.

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Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

June 4, 2026 1:38 PM IST