India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak revealed that Kuldeep Yadav was not picked in the first ODI against Australia due to the bouncy Perth wicket and the team combination. The visitors decided to play two finger spinners in Washington Sundar and Axar Patel, and also picked a seam-bowling all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made his ODI debut.

Meanwhile, Kuldeep has been in splendid form as he took 12 wickets in two Test matches against the West Indies and also picked 17 wickets in the Asia Cup as he has been bowling at the top of his game. 

However, it has been noted that India pays extra importance to batting depth under Gautam Gambhir’s coaching. Kuldeep had also not received a single opportunity in the five Test matches against England, which was baffling for a lot of cricket experts.

Sitanshu Kotak said in the pre-match press conference, “It depends on the wicket and the team balance. The captain, head coach and others decide purely based on the balance of the team rather than any individual.”

Kuldeep has scalped 181 wickets in 113 ODI matches at an impressive average of 26.44, and thus his exclusion was surprising.

Meanwhile, Indian batters had failed to deliver in the opening game of the series as they could only manage 136-9 in 26 overs on a difficult pitch. The visitors lost three early wickets in the Powerplay overs, and they were always playing catch-up after that. 

Australia were then able to chase down the revised target of 131 with ease after their captain, Mitchell Marsh, top-scored with 46 runs off just 52 balls.

The second ODI between India and Australia will be played at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.