Shubman Gill may be leading India from the front, but his recent remarks have only deepened the mystery surrounding Kuldeep Yadav’s absence from the playing XI in the ongoing five-match Test series in England. The ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is currently tied at 1-1.
The left-arm wrist-spinner, who is long touted as a match-winner, was overlooked for the Headingly and Edgbaston Tests despite the conditions being tailor-made for his skill set, especially in the second Test that India won by 339 runs for the first time at the venue.
Kuldeep Yadav is likely to face the axe again for the Lord’s Test
Despite India’s emphatic win at Edgbaston that levelled the ongoing Test series 1-1, Kuldeep’s omission has left many cricket experts and fans bewildered. Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill look for more batting depth instead of wicket-taking bowlers.
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Even the Indian captain justified Washington Sundar’s selection over Kuldeep Yadav for the Edgbaston Test, saying it was a deliberate tactical move, and stressed how his and Sundar’s partnership swung the game psychologically, extending India’s lead well beyond what it could have been with Kuldeep.
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Gill’s statement sends a strong message about where Kuldeep Yadav stands in the current pecking order. However, the Indian skipper acknowledged Kuldeep’s quality, but selection always depends on the balance and risk management, leaving many wondering whether Kuldeep would get a chance at Lord’s.
Shubman Gill defends Washington Sundar’s selection over Kuldeep Yadav
If Gautam Gambhir and Gill’s philosophy continues to lean toward defensive depth, India might again sacrifice Kuldeep Yadav, who is a match-winner, as the captain has already confirmed Jasprit Bumrah’s return for the third Test scheduled at Lord’s from July 10.
Shubman Gill said at the press conference, “It’s very tempting when you have a bowler like Kuldeep. One of the reasons why I wanted to play Washington was because he gives us the batting depth. And the first thing is, I think the partnership between me and Washington is very important. If there was no partnership, then I think our lead would have been 70-80-90 runs, which is psychologically very different from a 180-run lead.”
Gill added, “As much as we expected, even on the fifth day, the ball was not moving that much from the middle; it was just moving from the rough. We thought that…maybe on our fifth day, a spinner will give us more control if the ball is moving from the wicket. And especially on such (flat) wickets, sometimes spin gives you more control than fast bowling. So that was our mindset.”
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India unlikely to make major changes for the Lord’s Test
Historically, Lord’s hasn’t been a great venue for spinners. But England coach Brendon McCullum has publicly asked for a green and bouncy surface, which could help a wrist-spinner like Kuldeep. His wrist spin could bring more variety and bounce into play on such a pitch.
But major changes aren’t expected in India’s XI. The most obvious one is likely Jasprit Bumrah returning to the XI in place of Prasidh Krishna. There are also talks of bringing in an extra bowler if the conditions are green. In that case, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh might get the nod.