IND Vs SA 1st T20I: Kuldeep Yadav AXED From India Playing XI Despite 'Impact Player' Show In ODI Series

Kuldeep Yadav will not be in action during the IND vs SA 1st T20I in Cuttack on Tuesday. The 30-year-old was the star of the show in the ODI series and was even awarded the impact player honour in the dressing room. However, for the T20Is, Kuldeep was ignored, with Kolkata Knight Riders star Varun Chakravarthy being preferred.

India Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh

Kuldeep Yadav featured in all three ODIs against South Africa putting in impressive performances. He picked up 2 four wicket hauls, helping the Men in Blue to a 2-1 series win. However with the t20Is, Gambhir has opted to play Varun Chakravarthy.

Chakravarthy and Axar Patel will dovetail spin duties with India opting to a 2-man pace attack with pace bowling all-rounders in Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya. Kuldeep's none-selection was a headache for the Indian team management as Suryakumar Yadav addressed at the toss.

"We had a good series in Australia. Now we play five T20s against South Africa and then we play against New Zealand, so 15 good T20s. I think it’s good preparation. Same thing what we’ve been doing in the last few series: be fearless, enjoy the game, and be at it for the next three hours. It (selection) is a very good headache to have," Suryakumar Yadav said at the toss.