Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel were left out when Team India decided to call up a replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin after he announced his retirement from all forms of International cricket. Tanush Kotian, an off-spin bowling all-rounder from Mumbai, was selected to replace Ashwin in India’s squad for the fourth and fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests.
Although India had many possibilities, including Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, the selectors ultimately chose Kotian, and India captain Rohit Sharma explained their decision. Tanush Kotian has had a brilliant domestic season and was named player of the tournament in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy win last season.
Tanush Kotian can bat and bowl and is also a brilliant fielder. His all-around capabilities earned him a place in the Indian squad for the last two test matches down under in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel were not available for selection due to which Tanush Kotian got his well-deserved chance.
“Kuldeep Yadav Doesn’t Have A Visa And Axar Just Had A Baby” – Rohit Sharma
Speaking to the media the day after the announcement, Rohit made a joke about how Kotian was chosen only because Kuldeep lacked a visa. But seriously, he was full of admiration for the Mumbai all-rounder, who also played in the “A” tour in Australia before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series began. In his lone appearance, he scored 44 runs and claimed a wicket.
“Tanush was here a month back and Kuldeep doesn’t have a visa. We needed someone to get here as quickly as possible. Tanush was ready and played well here. But jokes apart, he has been doing well over the last two years and we wanted a back-up in case we play two spinners in Sydney or Melbourne,” he said.
Overall, the 26-year-old played 33 first-class games, where he snared 101 wickets at 25.70. He also scored 1525 runs in 47 innings, at 41.21 with two centuries and 13 fifties.
Rohit went on to explain why Axar or Kuldeep were not taken into consideration to succeed Ashwin. Axar was unavailable because he recently became a father, and the chinaman recently had surgery to repair a hernia.
“Kuldeep Yadav is not 100 per cent fit as he went through a hernia surgery. Axar recently had a baby so was not going to travel. Hence, Tanush was the best option for us and he was probably one of the reasons why Mumbai went on to win the Ranji trophy last season,” he said.
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