The BCCI has gone on to announce the India squad for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy. And in the 18-member, list 2 prominent names are missing – Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. The BCCI revealed that Kuldeep Yadav is injured and has been referred to the Centre of Excellence after the conclusion of the India vs New Zealand Test series.
The 29-year-old ace spinner is slated to undergo his recovery from his chronic left groin injury. On the other hand, Axar Patel too has been snubbed from the Test series. It is widely believed that Axar Patel’s strength lies mainly in Indian pitches and won’t work well in Australia.
Team India devoid of ace spinners in BGT
“Kuldeep Yadav was unavailable for selection for the tour of Australia since he has been referred to the BCCI Centre of Excellence after the end of the ongoing Test series against New Zealand for long term resolution of his chronic left groin issue,” the BCCI said.
Kuldeep Yadav didn’t get a chance in the ongoing IND vs NZ 2nd Test in Pune. In his place, Washington Sundar gets a chance in the game. And interestingly, the all-rounder also got a call-up in the India vs Australia Test series.
As for Axar Patel, the all-rounder has so far featured in 14 Test matches for India. Out of these 12 have been in India while the remaining two matches were in Bangladesh. The unexpected pace and bounce in Australia won’t work well with Axar Patel, forcing the BCCI to snub the spinner for the important Test series.