India, Aug. 28 -- Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin gave his honest take on Kuldeep Yadav's lack of consistent opportunities in India's red-ball setup. The wrist-spinner missed the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo after an underwhelming outing in the series opener. The BCCI, however, stated that Kuldeep was unavailable for selection in Colombo as he had not fully recovered from a viral illness. His absence has once again raised questions over his place in India's Test plans.

Kuldeep picked up just one wicket from 25 overs across two innings in the first Test, putting him under scrutiny. In contrast, fellow spinners Manav Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja made a bigger impact, combining for 14 wickets in the match and strengthening the...