There was a time when in limited overs format, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were favourites in Team India's playing XI. Together, the duo have picked many wickets, bowling in tandem to help India win matches. Chahal and Kuldeep played 34 ODIs for team India out of 53 ODIs, between September-July of 2019. India won 24 matches out of those 34 ODI games. During this, Chahal picked his career-best figures (6/42) against the Aussies and Kuldeep Yadav took a hat-trick.
However, for the last two years, Kuldeep Yadav has been out of the national team. Even in the suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Kuldeep Yadav did not get a chance to play a single match for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). In an interview, Yuzvendra Chahal explained why Kuldeep and he no longer play together for Indian cricket team.
READ | 'That Character For Me Is Most Favorite': Virat Kohli Opens Up On His Favorite Anushka Sharma Movie
"When Kuldeep Yadav and I used to play, Hardik Pandya was also there and he would bowl. In 2018 Hardik Pandya got injured and Ravindra Jadeja made a comeback (in white-ball cricket) as an all-rounder, the one who could also bat at number 7. Unfortunately, he is a spinner, we could have played together if he was a medium pacer. It was the demand of the team," Chahal told Sports Tak in an interview.
While Kuldeep has hardly played any games for national squad, Chahal has not played any ODI game for India since November 2020.
"Kuldeep and I played 50-50 matches in any series. Sometimes he would play 3 matches of a five-match series, sometimes I would get the chance. The team combination is needed, 11 players make a team and 'Kul-cha' was not making it. We were there till Hardik was t, we were also given chances. The need of the team was to have an all-rounder at No. 7 position. I am happy even if I am not playing but the team is winning," Chahal added