Kuldeep Yadav travelled with India to England but ended up without a single game in the Test series, while the Indian management has drawn criticism, and hence the former Indian cricketer suggests Kuldeep a tip to earn his spot back in the Test side.
India might have done several things right in the England series and hence received widespread praise for their terrific command in securing a draw on English soil, but they have also been criticized for some of their controversial calls.
Gautam Gambhir made several changes to the Indian playing 11 from the first to the final Test, as they also handed debut caps to Sai Sudharsan and Anshul Kamboj. They gave several opportunities to players like Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur, but did not consider giving a single game to three of the players in the squad.
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Kuldeep didn’t play a single Test in England—Shubman Gill and Gambhir cite batting depth as the primary reason
Kuldeep Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Arshdeep Singh were the three players who did not play a single game in the series. Narayan Jagadeesan, who was bought in as the replacement for injured Rishabh Pant, also did not feature in the playing 11.
Kuldeep made his debut in Test cricket back in 2017, and in 8 years, has featured in only 13 Tests; this was due to the unmatchable domination of Jadeja-Ashwin’s spin duo in Indian red-ball cricket.
However, now with Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement, Kuldeep was cited as the lead spinner in the side. However, missing out on an opportunity for the entire England series has drawn some serious flak.
The Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill have cited batting depth as the only reason to not have Kuldeep Yadav in the side, despite their will. They tried Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy and found their most reliable option in Washington Sundar, who could replace Kuldeep as a spinner as well as strengthen India’s lower-order batting.
The team management was proved right, with Sundar scoring 284 runs in the competition at an average of 47.33 and also picking up 7 wickets on the pace-friendly tracks of England.
Kuldeep Yadav receives new suggestions to retain his Test spot
Though many cricket pundits and legends backed Kuldeep Yadav for a chance to play in England, none of them could be sure of Kuldeep’s effectiveness in England; they were all clamouring for an experiment with the chinaman.
However, Gambhir had a clear plan to not compromise with his batting depth and hence picked Washington Sundar over others.
To this, Robin Uthappa, the former KKR teammate of the spinner, has urged Kuldeep Yadav to work on his batting skills to restore his lost place in the India Playing 11, though he asserted it wouldn’t be easy for him.
“Put Kuldeep in the 11 and make sure you’re batting is still in a state where none of the fans will go after the team management or the captain. With all due respect to Kuldeep’s prowess with the ball, he’s got limitations to his batting. That’s going to take a lot of effort from his side,” he said on his YouTube channel.
He cited the example of former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who evolved as an excellent batter and scored 6 Test hundreds with 3000+ runs in the longest format for India, alongside being India’s second-highest wicket-taker in the format.
“Ashwin has got 5-6 Test hundreds. If he can do that at the lower middle batting order, say at number eight or nine, then he will certainly play more Tests,” he added.
Will India need Kuldeep Yadav in the Asia Cup 2025?
India is next eyeing players to be picked for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, as they would need spinners since the games will be played in the UAE, which presumes good spin-friendly conditions.
Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy were part of India’s Champions Trophy proceedings, which were held in Dubai earlier this year, in February. Indian spinners did a fairly good job; however, the likes of Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi are also considered when it comes to the shortest format of the game.
And once again, Axar Patel emerges as a superior character, as he can be handy with the bat anywhere throughout India’s batting order. Kuldeep’s selection for the Asia Cup 2025 also remains under scrutiny.
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