Follow UsFormer Indian batter Mohammad Kaif believes it would be unfair to exclude Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI for the second Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham, starting on July 2 (Wednesday).
The left-arm wrist-spinner made his Test debut in 2017 but has featured in only 13 matches so far. Despite the limited opportunities, Kuldeep has picked up 56 wickets at an impressive average of 22.16.
Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, India lack depth in their bowling department — a gap Kuldeep could potentially fill. Kaif has urged head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill to include the 29-year-old in the XI for the upcoming Test.
"It will be unfair if Kuldeep Yadav doesn't get into the playing XI for the second Test. He has just played 13 Tests in 8 years. Earlier, he was kept out because of Ashwin — now, how do you justify his exclusion?" Kaif wrote on X.
Meanwhile, there are reports suggesting that India might go in with three all-rounders — Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar. However, former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar isn’t pleased with the idea.
“It's a nice comforting feel — what I call the illusionary all-rounders. It just feels nicer having them in the team before reality hits you in the face. That happened in Australia, and it's unfortunate that people think like that about Kuldeep Yadav,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
"You don't actually see how a pure bowler, or a wicket-taker like Kuldeep Yadav, gives a significant advantage to the team. There's Bazball, and Kuldeep is not an easy bowler for many English batters to play that kind of cricket against."
“When you have an exceptional wicket-taker... if he gets you four wickets, you save 150 runs. If you pick someone who isn't a strike bowler and choose him for his batting, he might get you one or two wickets, but he’s never going to save those 150 runs.”