In his last Test for India, Kuldeep Yadav was able to claim a five-wicket haul against England at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala from March 7 to 9. However, even after such an impressive performance, the young spinner was not included in India’s playing XI for the first Test against Bangladesh which India went on to lose by 280 runs last Sunday (September 22) at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The turning down of Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI raised eyebrows with many former greats of the game and cricket experts.
While there is no question that India was going to do better had Yadav played in that game, the winner of the 2007 T20 World Cup added in denying how the conditions were very conducive to Yadav’s bowling.
He believes that including Akash Deep’s replacement Kuldeep Yadav, in the second and final Test of the series starting from September 27 in Green Park Stadium, Kanpur, is the best way to go for the Indian team management.
“I do not see any reason why Kuldeep Yadav should be discarded so quickly. I think it would have been useful for the team had they fielded Kuldeep Yadav in Chennai, even if it was not a turning pitch, because Indian pitches usually allow seamers to operate efficiently for only a day or a day and a half. After that, spinners come into the play, and with a bowler of Kuldeep Yadav’s stature, one cannot just afford to bench him like this,” Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
“This is how India should play in Kanpur. Even if there is a green top and the weather is sunny, they need to remember that the green top will only be for the first couple of hours, and that that is all that is required of Siraj, and Bumrah for that. Where you have three quality spinners, it is only right that all three of them play,” he said.
Kuldeep, who made his Test bow for India against Australia at Dharamsala on March 25, 2017, has taken 53 wickets in the 12 Tests he has played so far. In his only Test match against Bangladesh, the 29 year old left arm spinner bagged five wickets in the first innings and finished the match with figures of 8 wickets.
