Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday took a swipe at Team India’s selection committee for keeping spinner Kuldeep Yadav on the bench while continuing to back Harshit Rana in the playing XI for the second ODI against Australia in Adelaide.
Calling the move “absurd” and “awful,” Tharoor posted on X (formerly Twitter) that leaving out “the most potent match-winner” Kuldeep Yadav in favour of “a journeyman pacer like Rana” was a blunder by the selectors.
He wrote, “So Xavier Bartlett took just four balls to show the Indian selectors the idiocy of their decision to leave out the most potent match-winner in their squad, @imkuldeep18, in favour of a journeyman pacer like Rana. It was wrong to omit Kuldeep in England & it is absurd not to pick him in Adelaide. Awful!”
So Xavier Bartlett took just four balls to show the Indian selectors the idiocy of their decision to leave out the most potent match-winner in their squad, @imkuldeep18, in favour of a journeyman pacer like Rana. It was wrong to omit Kuldeep in England & it is absurd not to pick…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 23, 2025
However, Tharoor’s post quickly backfired. In trying to prove his point, the Congress MP appeared to have confused Australian pacer Xavier Bartlett, who dismissed Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli in his opening over, with Xavier Doherty, a former left-arm spinner for Australia.
Social media users were quick to point out the slip-up, reminding Tharoor that Bartlett is a fast bowler, not a spinner. Ironically, his example ended up supporting the Indian team’s decision to stick with Harshit Rana, a pacer, given Bartlett’s early breakthroughs for Australia.
The post drew a mix of reactions online, with some users finding humour in the confusion while others argued that the team management’s faith in young talent like Rana was justified.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
