Absence of Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar makes India line-up look strange

Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar

Was it horses for courses or did India unnecessarily press the panic button. There was strong reaction to Indian think-tank's decision to leave out Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, especially the former, for the deciding T20I against England at Bristol yesterday.

India were taken aback by the conditions at Cardiff during the second T20I where the England batsmen made the most of the short boundaries to tackle Kuldeep and Bhuvi. With conditions almost similar here at the Brightside Ground, small boundaries and greenish pitch, the Indians decided to add a bit more of firepower to their bowling attack. However, there was a strong opinion among commentators like VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly, who tweeted, "a team should go with its best XI irrespective of the conditions."

For a cricketer, life can be pretty cruel. Kuldeep was the toast of the national after his feat of bagging a fifer in India's win at Manchester. After one bad game at Cardiff, he was sidelined. Of course, players do realise that this part of a professional's life - on top of the world one day and down under the other.

There is little doubt that on bigger grounds and longer ODI games, both Kuldeep and Bhuvi will be back to prove their resilience.

Also Read: India vs England: We showed character in tight situations, says Virat Kohli

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