Touted as The Best Spinner in India by Ravi Shastri, former India head coach, Kuldeep Yadav has not been part of the regular playing eleven for Team India for some time now. His omission from the team, even after Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement, makes us want to debunk the curious case of Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep Yadav, has only played a handful of Test matches despite being an eight-year veteran in Test cricket.

Mysterious Omission OF Kuldeep Yadav In The Second Test

India, having dominated the first Test for most of the initial four days, failed to dismiss England and defend the target set on the fifth day. The spirited run chase allowed the English side to go one up in the five-Test match series of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. India’s lack of wicket-taking ability was badly exposed, and the reason for its loss.

A ploy to strengthen the bowling team was expected for the second Test match at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Contrary to popular choice and cricketing logic, Head Coach Gautam Gambhir and the young Captain Shubman Gill have turned a blind eye on Kuldeep Yadav for the playing eleven.

Ironically, the pitch would have suited a wrist spinner on the 4^th and 5^th day of the Test match but Washington Sundar has been preferred over the left arm Chinaman.

Not picking a genuine wicket-taking bowler in Kuldeep Yadav and instead going for a utility type of player defied logic or cricketing sense, especially when India is 0-1 down in the series and desperate for a win.

Teams playing in Edgbaston traditionally try to strengthen their bowling attack as the pitches are known to be flat batting decks and require additional support in bowling to get the 20 required wickets to win a Test match.

India captain Shubman Gill said they were “tempted” to play Kuldeep, but had taken a call to strengthen their batting.

Former pacer Varun Aaron described India as having pressed the panic button by making three changes from the first Test playing eleven. Even with these changes, the glaring omission of Kuldeep Yadav, ideally suited for the Edgbaston wicket, has raised a few eyebrows.

Former England captain Michael Atherton, shocked not to see Kuldeep in the side, asked the Indian captain why India were reluctant to play Kuldeep in Test matches.

Michael Vaughan has claimed that India have played it safe by not picking Kuldeep Yadav in their playing eleven for the second Test.

Shockingly, the left-arm spinner has only played 13 Tests since making his debut in 2017. Kuldeep’s last Test appearance was against New Zealand at home last year.

India’s decision to pick another all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, may have also played a part in the non-selection of Kuldeep. Wanting to strengthen the batting, India erred by dropping a specialist batsman to accommodate two multi-skilled utility-level players. India’s woes so far in this series have been with the ball and not with the bat. Hence, Kuldeep’s exclusion comes as a surprise.

Why Is Kuldeep Not The First-Choice Spinner For India In Tests?

Kuldeep Yadav is not always the first-choice spinner for multiple reasons

• Coach Gautam Gambhir prefers utility players over specialists. The need to extend the batting has influenced the decision to take batting all-rounders and bowling all-rounders who can allow the team to bat long.

• Kuldeep is a highly skilled bowler, particularly effective against right-handed batsmen, but though he is a decent batsman, his weaker skill is batting, and that puts him below a Ravindra Jadeja or a Washington Sundar.

• Fielding is also a big factor, as Kuldeep is slow in the field and not a reliable catcher.

• Kuldeep’s effectiveness can be influenced by pitch conditions and the specific strengths and weaknesses of the opposition. Remember, he went wicketless in the last Lord’s Test played against England on a non-spin friendly pitch, which saw all 27 wickets taken by seamers. The left-arm bowler only bowled 9 overs. This led to Kuldeep again getting dropped.

Traditionally, India has always been a batting-heavy side when they travel and play in overseas conditions. This prompts them to pick bits and pieces players, which has always been India’s downfall.

India rarely plays 2 spinners in SENA countries. It is difficult to drop Ravindra Jadeja, who was preferred in overseas conditions over Ravichandran Ashwin. This eventually led to India’s second-highest wicket-taker to take an early retirement from Test cricket.

With the opportunity to have two spinners in the second test, Washington Sundar got preferred over Kuldeep Yadav

SuperSports View – Confused Indian Test camp

Though with the flawed selection, India may well go on and win the second test but there is a need for the Indian team to put more faith on Kuldeep before he takes a call on his career like Ravichandran Ashwin. Should Kuldeep start batting to be in reckoning?

Kuldeep Yadav is always the first player to be dropped when an additional batsman or bowler has to be taken in team, irrespective of the player’s performance in his last outing. This seems to be an ongoing thing in the left arm chinaman’s career. While Kuldeep Yadav has improved a lot as a bowler in the last 4 years, opportunities have been thin for this unlucky bowler.

India has made 24 changes in their last 10 Test and never played a steady playing eleven in two consecutive Test. This shows the Cluttered Mindset of the coach and the think tank.

Test matches are won by taking 20 wickets and India has missed the plot in the second test match. A similar mistake was made in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, that resulted in India missing to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) Finals.

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