India coach says Kuldeep rested, not injured, after warm-up innings omission
Kuldeep Yadav did not bowl in the second innings of India’s three-day warm-up match against Sri Lanka Cricket XI, a decision India’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule explained on August 9, 2026. Bahutule said the omission was a precautionary measure related to workload rather than any fitness concern.
Kuldeep had already bowled 18 overs during the practice match and had delivered another two-three overs before the game, Bahutule noted. “Kuldeep bowled almost 20 overs in the sense 18 in the match and about two-three overs before the game also. He had a very good outing and he just wanted to take a break in terms of just understanding how his body is at,” Bahutule said after the warm-up game. The team management therefore opted not to push him further so he could assess how his body responded.
India used the fixture to give other spinners extended spells, with Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar bowling around 14-15 overs each and Saransh Jain also seeing time with the ball. Kuldeep’s outing was described as productive and provided him with valuable time in the middle ahead of India’s upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. The conditions observed in the match were flagged as relevant to selection choices for the tour.
The pitch in the warm-up started out relatively flat but began offering more assistance to spinners as the game progressed, Bahutule said. “The bowlers had a great opportunity to go down and express themselves on a pitch which was slightly on a flatter side in the first day. But as the days went by, there was more turn on to it and definitely a good outing for the spinners,” Bahutule said. India’s use of the match aimed to gauge how the surface might behave over the course of a longer contest.
India won the warm-up game by six wickets, a result that also allowed the bowling group to acclimatise to conditions in Sri Lanka. Kuldeep’s managed workload was described as giving India some breathing room ahead of the Test series, with the wrist-spinner remaining an option because of his ability to generate turn and offer a different challenge to the finger-spin of Jadeja and Suthar.
For now, Bahutule’s explanation should put to rest concerns over Kuldeep’s fitness. His absence from the second innings was simply about managing his workload and making sure he remains fresh for the Tests.
