Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned Gautam Gambhir and his team’s decision to drop Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI for the fourth T20I against the West Indies. Ashwin believes that leaving out the wrist spinner was a surprising decision, especially when the West Indies batters have struggled to read his bowling variations.

India paid the price as they suffered a 24-run defeat in Hyderabad on October 15. The West Indies posted a massive total of 247/3 before bowling India out for 223 in 19.3 overs. Shai Hope played a match-winning knock of 102* off 50 balls that helped his team to level the series 2-2.

Ravichandran Ashwin slams India’s call to drop Kuldeep Yadav

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin has stressed that Kuldeep Yadav could have been a valuable option on a pitch where some bounce was expected. Earlier, Sunil Gavaskar furious with Shamar Joseph after Arshdeep Singh incident.

Although the Hyderabad pitch is not known for helping the spinners, Ashwin pointed out that West Indies batters have found it difficult to understand Kuldeep Yadav’s googlies and leg-spin.

Ashwin said in his YouTube video, "It is very surprising because, on a ground where you expect to get some bounce, I know it has not always been a happy hunting ground for spinners, but the West Indies batters are struggling to pick his googly and leg-spin.”

Ashwin takes a dig at Gautam Gambhir over Kuldeep Yadav

The former Indian all-rounder mocked Gautam Gambhir and the think tank’s common sense and said that Kuldeep’s presence could have helped India save around 15 to 20 runs, which might have made a big difference in the fourth T20I against the West Indies.

He added, “So, if you are leaving Kuldeep out against them, it lacks a bit of common sense. It is very surprising because I think his presence could have made a difference of 15-20 runs.”

Kuldeep’s record against the West Indies in T20Is has been impressive. The left-arm wrist-spinner has taken 20 wickets in 11 matches against them at an impressive average of 15.70 and an economy rate of 7.13.

These numbers show that he has been an effective bowler against the Caribbean side. Amid this, "MS Dhoni made our job 50% easier": Yuzvendra Chahal reveals captain cool’s big contribution.

Ravichandran Ashwin makes strong statement on Kuldeep Yadav after India’s Ranchi defeat

However, Ashwin said that India’s decision to leave Kuldeep out of the playing XI in Indore was understandable, as the ground has small boundaries, making it difficult for spinners to control the scoring. However, he refused to blame Kuldeep for India’s defeat in Ranchi.

Kuldeep had taken one wicket for 53 runs in the second T20I in Ranchi, where India failed to defend a huge total of 249. Ashwin felt it was unfair to blame the spinner for the defeat simply because of his bowling figures.

He signed off by saying, “I was surprised. Kuldeep was not picked in Indore, and I would still endorse that decision because I can understand that the ground is small. But you are almost making an issue out of it by suggesting that India’s loss in Ranchi was because of Kuldeep. That, in itself, is wrong.”