Former India player Cheteshwar Pujara made a cheeky remark after veteran spinner Kuldeep Yadav was dropped from the playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo as well. He failed to do well in the series opener in Galle and was eventually dropped after a poor display, and he has been replaced by debutant Saransh Jain.

However, Team India captain Shubman Gill said that Kuldeep Yadav is not a part of the playing XI due to illness, while the BCCI also released an official statement confirming the same as well.

“Kuldeep, unfortunately, had some infections, so he misses out, and Saransh makes his debut for India,” Shubman Gill said at the toss after opting to bat first.

“UPDATE: Mr Kuldeep Yadav has not fully recovered from his viral illness. He was unavailable for selection in the Playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka. However, he can take the field as a concussion substitute, if required,” the statement read.

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However, Cheteshwar Pujara opined on Kuldeep Yadav’s exclusion from the team and took a slight dig at the team management in the process as well.

“Want to know what kind of infection he has,” he said on the Sony Sports Network.

On the other hand, former Team India pacer Venkatesh Prasad, who was part of the panel, urged the team management to be honest with their update as well.

“The least they can do is be honest,” he said.

However, Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir opined on the veteran spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s performance and his usage in the first Test of the series as well.

“The conversation that I’ve had with Kuldeep is just try and bowl a good spell rather than looking desperate to take wickets because sometimes as a wristspinner when you’re looking and you’re desperate to take wickets, I think your control can go away as well. For a very long period of time we rate Kuldeep very highly and we know how successful and how threatening can he be in every condition given to him. But again, we’re going to try and pick the best attack of what can deliver in these conditions,” Gautam Gambhir had said ahead of the second Test (via ESPN Cricinfo).