India’s first-ever bilateral ODI series defeat to New Zealand on home soil has attracted huge criticism, and former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin was blunt in his assessment of the team's performance. Reflecting on the defeat, Ashwin stated that India failed to avert the threat posed by New Zealand players. The most worrying thing for India was Kuldeep Yadav's performance, who throughout the series managed to chip in with three wickets only, giving India a huge setback ahead of the T20I World Cup. R Ashwin believed that New Zealand batters' perennial assault dwindled Kuldeep Yadav's rhythm.
"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," R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
R Ashwin urged Kuldeep Yadav to experiment more with his bowling when going against seasoned batters like Daryl Mitchell.
"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," stated Ashwin.
Ashwin also encouraged both Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav to experiment with their bowling to get more effective in tough situations.
"Many saw Lennox's bowling and criticised 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 said.