"Greatest non selection ever" - When Michael Vaughan questioned star spinner's omission from India's playing XI

Former England captain Michael Vaughan once expressed astonishment when India did not pick Ravichandran Ashwin for any of the four Tests on the tour of England in 2021. The 50-year-old had shared on X (formerly Twitter) that it was possibly the greatest non-selection one had seen in the country.

India had opted to go pace-heavy in each of the four Tests in 2021, with Ravindra Jadeja playing as the lone spinner. Writing on the social media platform, Vaughan opined:

"The non selection of @ashwinravi99 has to be greatest NON selection we have ever witnessed across 4 Tests in the UK !!! 413 Test wickets & 5 Test 100s !!!! #ENGvIND Madness …"

India won the Tests at Lord's and The Oval to take a 2-1 lead in the series, heading into the fifth and final Test at Old Trafford. However, the series finale was cancelled due to a surge in COVID cases.

Kuldeep Yadav goes without playing a single Test as India opt for batting depth in their playing XI

Ravichandran Ashwin's situation during the England tour in 2021 is similar to Kuldeep Yadav's on the 2025 England tour. The left-arm wrist spinner did not play a single Test in the ongoing series as India opted to have more batting depth in their playing XIs.

Speaking about Yadav's omission from the side, out-of-favour India batter Cheteshwar Pujara said that it was unfortunate that the 30-year-old could not make it to the playing XI, admitting that he would be part of any other team around the world.

"Ideally, yes. But with English conditions and with the Indian batting line-up, at this stage we can't afford to have him. Because Washington (Sundar) bats well, you can't drop (Ravindra) Jadeja; he bats well.You need Jadeja and Washington at number six and seven and that's the reason I don't think India can afford to pick Kuldeep. But he can walk into any side in the world. He's a quality spinner. It is a bit unfortunate that he's not part of this playing XI," Pujara had said on Sony Sports Network.

Yadav has taken 56 wickets in 13 Tests in his career, at a strike rate of 37.3. His last overseas Test for India was against Bangladesh in Chattogram in December 2022.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava