Former wicketkeeper-batter Farokh Engineer was surprised that India decided not to include wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the team for the first Test against England. He called Kuldeep a “trump card” and thinks he should play in all five matches. Instead, India went for a mostly pace-based lineup with four fast bowlers and only Ravindra Jadeja as the spinner, which caught a lot of people off guard.
“I would have liked to see Kuldeep in the playing XI. He’s a key player along with Bumrah – I’d have picked him,” Engineer told PTI on the first day. He believes Kuldeep is a strong bowler that England’s batters would struggle against.
At 87, Engineer, who played 46 Tests for India between 1961 and 1975, also backed the new Test captain Shubman Gill. Despite Gill’s underwhelming record in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia), Engineer still sees him as “a class player.” He was particularly impressed with Gill’s captaincy in the 2025 IPL, where he led the Gujarat Titans to the Eliminator.
“He stayed calm and made good bowling and field-placement calls,” Engineer said. “Let’s give him a chance – he’s level-headed and listens to senior players like KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, or Jasprit Bumrah. I think he’ll do well. We should support him.”
Engineer also praised Yashasvi Jaiswal for his century – 101 off 159 balls – on the first day, especially noting that he played well despite coming in with a rib injury from a short ball.
Regarding England’s bowlers, he said, “They don’t have quality spinners. Young Bashir has a decent Test record, but he can give away runs. Our batsmen are good against off-spin, so they’ll take advantage.”
Lastly, when talking about the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and R Ashwin, Engineer mentioned, “We’ll definitely miss players of their caliber, but it opens up opportunities for newcomers like Sai Sudharsan. I believe we’ll see more of him in Tests, even if he had a disappointing four-ball duck today.”
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