Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Ambati Rayudu believes India missed an opportunity by leaving experienced wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav out of the playing XI for the fourth T20I against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland. The former cricketer felt Kuldeep’s variations could have made a difference on a ground known for its short straight boundaries. India’s spin combination of Axar Patel and Naman Dhir struggled to contain the New Zealand batters, conceding 59 runs in four overs while picking up just one wicket.

The hosts took full advantage of the conditions to post a record-breaking 259/7 in their 20 overs. It was New Zealand’s highest-ever T20I total and the most runs India had conceded in an innings in the format.

Speaking about India’s bowling approach during the mid-innings break on Cricbuzz, Ambati Rayudu explained why he felt Kuldeep could have been a better option. “Axar Patel and Naman Dhir bowl fast. But when you want batters to hit to the square boundaries because of the short straight boundary, you have to slow it up. That is where India could have used Kuldeep in this game to slow things up and force the batters to hit to the longer square boundaries.”

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He also highlighted how India’s reliance on fuller deliveries worked against the bowlers on a batting-friendly surface.

“The Indian bowlers rely on the fuller deliveries. So when your strength is bowling full, and the boundary size is small, you know if you miss, it’s going to go big. The strengths of Arshdeep, Prince, and Nitish are bowling full. And in this ground, that’s what has been reflected in the final score.”

Kuldeep has not featured in the ongoing T20I series, although India had already secured an unassailable 3-0 lead before the fourth match. Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik also shared his assessment of India’s bowling performance, focusing on Mayank Yadav’s expensive final over.

The fast bowler had delivered an impressive spell in his first three overs, conceding 28 runs and claiming two wickets. However, he leaked another 20 runs in his final over while attempting to bowl more yorkers and fuller deliveries.

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“For Mayank Yadav, more bounce works because he’s high pace. His strength is the hard-length ball. Yorkers are not natural to him; he tries. In the last over where he went for runs, that’s what he was doing, bowling a lot more yorkers,” Dinesh Karthik said. India faced a daunting target of 260 but endured a disastrous start, managing just 61 runs for four wickets during the powerplay.