Why does Kuldeep keep proving his worth yet still face selection doubts?

Kuldeep Yadav took 4 for 40 against West Indies in the first ODI at Thiruvananthapuram, restricting the visitors after they had reached 135 for 0. He bowled 34 dot balls in his 10 overs and dismissed Justin Greaves and Jewel Andrew in successive deliveries to finish the innings. India won by eight wickets.

Kuldeep has now produced match-winning spells after long absences from the side. His ODI returns dipped earlier this year, including a wicketless outing against Afghanistan, and those performances have been cited as reasons for his inconsistent selection. India have preferred combinations that include Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel or Washington Sundar because they offer additional batting depth.

Wrist-spin depends on rhythm and small technical details that suffer when a bowler plays only intermittently. Kuldeep's stop-start selection creates a cycle where ordinary comeback performances strengthen the argument for another combination, yet the evidence shows that when he receives enough overs to settle into a spell, he provides something those safer combinations cannot replicate.