Gambhir’s risk backfires as Australia seal series; calls grow for Kuldeep Yadav’s return

Team India's bowling once again faltered as Australia chased down 265 with 22 balls to spare, clinching the ODI series 2–0 at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. The two-wicket victory, following their rain-affected seven-wicket win in Perth, handed the Mitchell Marsh-led side an unassailable lead ahead of the final game in Sydney.

Opting to play Nitish Reddy as an all-round option instead of proven match-winner Kuldeep Yadav proved costly. India lacked a genuine wicket-taking threat in the middle overs — a gap that former pacer Varun Aaron highlighted in his post-match analysis.

Aaron pointed out that while Australia found it challenging against spin, India’s bowlers seemed to rely on mistakes rather than forcing dismissals. He emphasized that Kuldeep’s absence was felt deeply, suggesting that head coach Gautam Gambhir should rethink his team balance, even if it means dropping a batsman.

“Kuldeep Yadav should have been in the XI from game one,” Aaron said. “You might need to sacrifice a batter. Playing only two pacers in Australia isn’t an option, but Kuldeep is a wicket-taker. He makes up for any runs you might lose by strengthening the attack. Plus, having one less batter often pushes the others to take more responsibility.”

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Aaron added that India have successfully played with seven batters before and that including Kuldeep could provide crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs. “Today, India were waiting for batters to make mistakes instead of creating opportunities — and that’s a big difference,” he explained.

Currently, India’s lineup features five specialist batters and three all-rounders — Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Nitish Kumar Reddy — among the top eight. To accommodate Kuldeep for the final ODI in Sydney, the management may have to bench Reddy, who has yet to take a wicket and has scored only 27 runs in the series so far.