Sunil Gavaskar, the famous Indian cricketer, remarked that India should consider bringing in Kuldeep Yadav for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy second Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. In the first Test, India decided to field only one spinner, Ravindra Jadeja. The move, however, did not pay off, as the Saurashtra all-rounder took only one wicket in the Test match after bowling 47 overs.
It is almost certain that Jasprit Bumrah would not play all five Tests on the tour since the team management wants to limit his workload. Gavaskar believes Kuldeep should be selected in the playing XI at Edgbaston, regardless of whether Bumrah plays in the second Test. The former India captain suggested that the wrist spinner may benefit from the surface in Birmingham, adding that Shardul Thakur might be the one to make way for the Uttar Pradesh spinner.
“Regardless of whether Jasprit Bumrah is healthy or not, I believe Kuldeep Yadav should join the team.
I believe he should replace Shardul Thakur in the team because the Birmingham pitch will provide only a little assistance to the wrist spinner,” Gavaskar said in the post-match show.
Gavaskar also indicated that if either Sai Sudharsan or Karun Nair fails to produce in the second Test, India should consider inserting Washington Sundar into the squad.
“If things do not go well in the second test, maybe Sai (Sudharsan) and Karun (Nair). I don’t want to let go of them right now. Then I’d look at Washington (Sundar), which provides more consistent batting and a bit more variety in bowling,” he said.
Coming to the first Test, England chased down a 371-run target on Day 5 on the back of Ben Duckett’s blistering century. Zak Crawley and Joe Root also scored important half-centuries, and Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith also came up with crucial contributions to orchestrate a famous win for the Three Lions.
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