Follow UsKuldeep Yadav has picked up 21 wickets against England, averaging 22.28, including a five-wicket haul. You’d assume that someone with that calibre and record against England would be a sure-shot starter in the five-match Test series in England, right?
India are currently playing their fourth Test of the series, and Kuldeep has featured in none of them, mainly because the management have put their emphasis on batting depth. Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was furious with the management, slamming Gautam Gambhir and co for their obsession with batting depth.
“If somebody would have told me that Kuldeep Yadav will not be playing any part in the first four Tests, I would have been very very surprised. Unfortunately, it is our obsession with batting, and looking for those 20-30 extra runs,” said a furious Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
“Gone are those days in England, that advantage of 20-30 runs is gone. If your No.7 makes 30 runs, and your No.8 makes 30 runs, you have extra 60 runs. Earlier that 60 runs used to be very useful, because bowlers used to get help from the pitch.
“I am not saying that Kuldeep would have picked up five wickets if he was playing, but it plays with a batter’s mind. A lot of these guys don’t pick him, and this was a great opportunity. He would have atleast picked one wicket if he was playing today,” he added.
Ashwin further went on to state that India should have brought in Kuldeep at Old Trafford once Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the Test. In Kuldeep’s absence, the Indian bowling attack looked dull and dusty on day two, as England got off to a rollicking start, smashing 225 runs in just 46 overs, trailing by just 133 runs now.
“Once Nitish Kumar Reddy went out of the picture at No.6, it was a no-brainer to play Kuldeep Yadav. Fifteen full days of cricket has happened already, your fast bowling attack is tiring, Siraj was tiring. Even though Bumrah’s workload has been managed, it is still not an easy task," he said.
"Kuldeep Yadav is a serious miss for India, and England are ahead in the Test. Shubman Gill is unable to give six over, seven over spells to Bumrah, you cannot run him to the ground. I felt the spinners could have been rotated better,” Ashwin concluded.
India are trailing the series 1-2, and a loss here in Manchester will put an end to their hopes of keeping the series alive.