The Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill-led brain tank forced Kuldeep warm the bench at Lord’s, when the Men in Blue failed to meet a formidable goal and lost the series to the home team, even though India lost the second ODI against England.
India’s left-arm Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who was selected for the August Test match against Sri Lanka, has been urged to start in the team’s starting lineup. Kuldeep’s most recent appearance was in the India vs. Afghanistan ODI series, when he only played in the second game and gave up 42 runs in his 10-over spell without taking a wicket.
Kuldeep Yadav is currently in England for Yorkshire in the England One-Day Cup. Deep Dasgupta, a former Indian cricket player, has now supported Kuldeep’s inclusion in the India playing XI for the Sri Lanka tour after he was picked in the Test team.
For those who don’t know, Kuldeep was selected for India’s 2-1 defeat in their ODI tour of England. Despite being in England, he did not play in any of the three ODIs since the squad chose to use all-rounders like Washington Sundar and Axar Patel rather than a specialist spinner.
After Washington Sundar was ruled out of the final ODI against England, the management opted for an extra pace option even though Lord’s may have been a good hunting ground for Kuldeep.
Many people, notably former cricket player turned analyst Deep Dasgupta, thought it was strange that the Indian team management, led by Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill, left Kuldeep out of the playing XI at Lord’s.
Dasgupta has now called for Kuldeep to play in the Sri Lanka Tests without fail after he was once again included in the team for the tour.
“Kuldeep Yadav must be in the starting lineup. I thought he would be in the starting lineup for that third ODI at Lord’s against England. Many others, including me, were anticipating seeing him. On his YouTube channel, Deep Dasgupta stated, “Unfortunately, those who made the team did not see him; that is a different issue.”
How did Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir lose out on a chance to play with Kuldeep in England?
During the England tour, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar were the main spin alternatives used by the Indian thought tank led by Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill.
Washington Sundar wasn’t productive enough, but Axar Patel was outstanding with the ball, taking five wickets and becoming India’s highest wicket-taker in the series.
Sundar maintained an economy rate of 3.25 while going wicketless in just four overs over the course of the series. In the meantime, Patel’s supremacy—which is demonstrated by his four wickets and 31.6 average—highlights how helpful Kuldeep could have been if he had been in the starting lineup.
On venues like Birmingham and Lord’s, a left-arm chinaman may have posed serious issues for the England batting lineup, even if Gambhir and Gill favoured more batting depth over specialist spin bowling.
India might have lost the series if they had played a left-arm chinaman. Deep Dasgupta, however, believes that given Sri Lanka’s spin-friendly circumstances, that shouldn’t be the case.
How has Kuldeep Yadav performed against Sri Lanka in the past?
Kuldeep Yadav has only participated in one Test match in Sri Lanka. In his two innings, he has claimed five wickets, with his best statistics being 4/40. In August 2017, he made his only Test appearance in Sri Lanka at Pallekele, where he maintained an average of 19.2 and a strike rate of 36.
Kuldeep has participated in 17 Test, ODI, and T20I matches in Sri Lanka, bowling 139.1 overs and capturing 28 wickets at an economy rate of 3.98 and an average of 19.82.
These figures highlight Kuldeep Yadav’s potential threat in the forthcoming Test series, which is why Deep Dasgupta is advocating for him to be among the first names in India’s starting lineup.
