'I don't know the reason' - Murali Kartik on Kuldeep Yadav's selection puzzle

Murali Kartik has expressed confusion over why Kuldeep Yadav struggles to secure regular spots in India's playing eleven despite maintaining strong records across all three formats of the game.

The left-arm wrist spinner has featured in India's squads for multiple series but has faced inconsistent selection at the playing XI level, raising questions about the reasons behind his omissions.

"When it comes to Kuldeep Yadav, I think I am confused myself, that's why I'm searching for words here, because his record across all three formats of the game is very good, exceptionally good, but somehow he still can't string together game after game. I don't know the reason," Kartik answered CricTracker's query during an interaction arranged by Sony Sports Network.

In England, when everyone was asking for him to be picked, he didn't play the test matches. Again, in Sri Lanka, he played the first Test match and did not play the second," Kartik further highlighted.

Kuldeep's career statistics underscore his quality as a bowler. Across 17 Tests, he has taken 76 wickets at an average of 22.42. In ODIs, he has claimed 194 wickets across 120 matches at an average of 26.82, while in T20 Internationals, he has taken 95 wickets in 54 appearances at an average of 13.74. Despite these credentials, his selection has remained inconsistent.

"Again, that's why I said if Varun Chakravarthy can be seen solely for his bowling skills, why not Kuldeep Yadav? And Kuldeep Yadav is a much better batter and a much better fielder [compared to Varun] So to say, compared to Varun Chakravarthy, and he has got age on his side, so I don't understand why… so it's always been a constant question in all our minds when we think of why Kuldeep Yadav was not picked," The speaker said.

The renowned commentator noted that Kuldeep and Nitish Kumar Reddy are the only two players selected across all three-format teams for the New Zealand series, with the Aligarh-born spinner failing to be a regular feature in India's Playing XI way too often.

"I think him and Nitish Kumar Reddy are the only two players who are a common denominator across all three format teams that have been picked for New Zealand. And I think close to 36, 37 players have been picked for that series, so I hope Kuldeep Yadav is seen as a match winner, because he's a wicket-taking bowler for you," Kartik said.

Despite this recognition across formats, the spinner continues to face selection uncertainty at the playing XI level.