Former Indian cricketer turned commentator Mohammad Kaif said wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav should return to the playing XI for the fifth T20I against West Indies after being benched for the last two games. He returned to the T20I setup after eight months following Varun Chakravarthy’s injury during the Afghanistan series, and he also found a place in the squad for the New Zealand tour.

However, he was dropped from the playing XI for the third T20I in Indore, considering the batting-friendly conditions that include a flat pitch and small boundaries. Kuldeep Yadav registered figures of 1-53 in the second T20I in Ranchi, where
West Indies chased down a record 250 to level the series as well. However, his exclusion has not solved the problem as India conceded 247-3 in the fourth T20I to lose by 24 runs as well.

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“There should be no talk of 200 or 250 in the team meeting. When such an atmosphere is created, the talk often becomes, ‘Let’s just not concede 250, let’s try to get them around 200 and we will chase it down’. If a bowler sets out with this mindset, that they have to restrict the opposition to under 200, then they bowl defensively. That means you are bowling just to save yourself. Then the wicket-taking mindset will not be there,” he said on Cricbuzz.

“But if you play an extra bowler, the thinking can be to restrict them under even 180. Play Kuldeep Yadav. You have a bowler like him sitting in the dug out. Sometimes he plays, then in one match he gets hit, and then he is dropped again. We are still figuring out our best playing XI. So, I think Kuldeep should definitely be there. Thinking that we can chase down 250 is a massive risk,” he concluded.