Kuldeep Yadav omitted from India XI for third T20I at Indore; Prince Yadav brought in

India left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was left out of the playing XI for the third Twenty20 international against West Indies, which began on Sunday at Holkar Stadium in Indore in the five-match series, with Prince Yadav named as his replacement.

The series had produced two one-sided contests before the Indore game: India completed an easy chase in the first T20I with captain Shreyas Iyer scoring a century, while West Indies responded by chasing 252 — the second-highest target in T20I history — in the second match. West Indies captain Shai Hope recorded his third century in the last four innings on this tour as his side levelled the series at 1-1. For the second consecutive match, West Indies won the toss and put India in to bat first in Indore.

Selectors made a surprise change to India’s lineup by omitting Kuldeep despite his status on the tour; he is described in the report as India’s premier spinner in white-ball cricket and was the leading wicket-taker on the ongoing tour. Kuldeep finished with the most wickets (7) in the three-match ODI series that preceded the T20s and took three wickets across the first two T20Is.

The explanation given for Kuldeep’s exclusion centres on match conditions at Holkar Stadium. The pitch was judged to be pretty flat, the boundaries short, and dew was expected to be a factor. The report adds that India went in with an extra seating option and that these playing conditions made the wrist-spinner a less attractive selection for the team management.

The report cites India’s bowling struggles in the second T20I as a further reason for the change, saying spinners found it difficult to hold the ball when dew affected the surface and that wrist-spin in particular can be hampered by a wet ball. It states that this prompted the decision to add one extra pacer to the side for the Indore game.

Specific observation from the previous match is singled out: Kuldeep, according to the report, bowled at a quicker pace and attempted to skid the ball rather than extract turn, a change attributed to the ball becoming wet under the dew.

With the series level at 1-1, the third T20I is under way at Holkar Stadium in Indore following India’s decision to omit Kuldeep Yadav and include Prince Yadav in the XI.