Mohammad Kaif slammed the new ODI captain, Shubman Gill, for not including Kuldeep Yadav in the first ODI against Australia in Perth. Australia defeated the Men in Blue by seven wickets. India could only score 136/9 in 26 overs and failed to put the hosts under pressure.

Kaif questioned Gill for not going ahead with Kuldeep, calling him a wicket-taker. He also gave the example of Shane Warne, who was successful across formats in Australia.

“Gill didn’t play Kuldeep Yadav. Shane Warne was successful in all formats in Australia. I was disappointed with the decision not to include Kuldeep in the Playing XI. You didn’t go for quality for quantity,” Kaif said.

In the Asia Cup 2025, Kuldeep took 17 wickets from seven matches at an average of 9.29 and an economy of 6.27.

He amassed 12 wickets in the two-match Test series against the West Indies. In 23 ODIs against Australia, Kuldeep has taken 31 wickets.

Kaif further mentioned that bowlers should have stood up in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

“Nitish Kumar Reddy is not a complete bowler. The same goes for Sundar. Harshit Rana was not on the mark. It was the responsibility of the bowlers to win the match. It was a low score, but bowlers need to win such games,” he added.

The team’s management played three all-rounders in the series opener. Nitish was given his debut cap by Rohit Sharma, while Axar Patel and Sundar also got the nod to strengthen the batting department. It remains to be seen if the Indian team will make changes in the second game on October 23 in Adelaide.