“Unfair” treatment of Kuldeep Yadav? Ashwin fears another benching for NZ tour

India’s Kuldeep Yadav and Sanju Samson (ANI Photo) Chennai: Kuldeep Yadav often finds himself out of the India squad and playing XI after a peculiar bad day in charge. Indian spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin feels that the left-armer is often treated “unfairly”.“Kuldeep has produced results over the years and it’s unfair to put the blame on one bowler when the conditions are against him. He hasn’t been an option under this management, which is unfortunate,” Ashwin said, referring to Kuldeep, who was dropped after conceding 1-53 in West Indies’ chase of 250 in the second T20I in Ranchi.“With Hardik Pandya not yet back, I expect Varun Chakravarthy to get the nod ahead of Kuldeep (in New Zealand), though it will be interesting to see how he comes back from the side strain,” Ashwin added.The veteran also expressed concern that India could once again gravitate towards a combination that favors batting depth over specialist bowling options.“If we have Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar around us, we could see India missing out on the option of attacking rotation. I hope not, but again that could be the direction we are going,” he said.If India opt for four front-row seamers, Ashwin believes the emphasis must be on picking the right wickets rather than compromising the attack due to less batting depth.(Watch India’s tour of New Zealand live and exclusively on Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV from October 22, 2026.)