India’s ODI series loss against New Zealand has created fresh concern, and Kuldeep Yadav is now facing serious scrutiny ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Ravichandran Ashwin fears that the New Zealand series may have affected Kuldeep Yadav’s confidence at a very important time.
Kuldeep Yadav under pressure after New Zealand Series
Kuldeep Yadav, who is known as one of India’s best wrist spinners, had a rare, poor series with the ball. In the three-match ODI series, the 31-year-old managed to take only three wickets at an average of 60.66 and went for 7.28 runs per over against New Zealand at home.
These figures clearly showed that he struggled to control the Kiwi batters. New Zealand’s batting approach played a big role in Kuldeep’s struggles. The Kiwi batters decided to attack India’s spinners right from the start instead of playing defensively.
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This aggressive mindset put Kuldeep Yadav under pressure, and he could not settle into his rhythm. The wrist-spinner’s struggle was one of the key reasons behind India’s 1-2 defeat against the Black Caps. This loss was more painful, as it was India’s first-ever home ODI series defeat to New Zealand.
Aggressive Kiwi batting exposed Kuldeep
After the ODI series, Ashwin explained how such a series can affect a bowler mentally. However, the former Indian off-spinner believes that Kuldeep has all the skills and variations needed to succeed at the highest level, but he felt the wrist-spinner needed to be more flexible with his plans.
Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, “New Zealand batters took the proactive approach against the Indian spinners by taking them on immediately. Kuldeep Yadav is one of the finest bowlers. He has all the tools. But before the T20 World Cup, his confidence would have come down a bit.”
Ravichandran Ashwin’s crucial suggestions to Kuldeep
The former Indian all-rounder felt that when a batter like Daryl Mitchell was dominating and wickets were not falling, Kuldeep should have tried different ideas. Mitchell showed clear scoring areas and kept attacking, yet Kuldeep stuck to similar lines and lengths in all three matches.
Ashwin felt this lack of experimentation hurt India badly. Kuldeep and the Indian cricket team had no answers to Mitchell, who completely dominated the ODI series. He finished as the highest run-scorer with a massive 352 runs at an extraordinary average of 176 and strike rate of 110.34.
He further noted, “My only submission to Kuldeep Yadav would be asking him to experiment a little more. When a batter is batting as well as Daryl Mitchell is against you, and wickets aren’t falling, we have to make the play. His wagon wheel will show you no runs on the offside because of a closed bottom hand. I am concerned that Kuldeep didn’t do this in all three ODIs.”
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Ravindra Jadeja’s wicketless series and India’s batting concerns vs Jayden Lennox
The former Indian off-spinner also raised concerns about Ravindra Jadeja. While Kuldeep was expensive, Jadeja went wicketless in all three matches. Ashwin believes both Indian spinners are now in a situation where they must expand their game and think differently to trouble modern batters.
He added, “Many saw Jayden Lennox’s bowling and criticized Jadeja and Kuldeep’s bowling. Yes, both are in a situation where they have to expand their game. Both the Indian spinners can be a bit more creative.”
Ashwin also expressed disappointment with India’s batting against New Zealand’s young spinner Jayden Lennox. Indian batters struggled to attack him and allowed him to bowl comfortably. He pointed out that only Harshit Rana showed intent by using his feet and hitting Lennox for a six.
