A touring Indian squad elected not to play ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav in any of the five Tests of the present series against England. While the Aligarh native was supposed to be a specialist spinner on English surfaces, the think tank decided to keep him on the bench throughout the tour, with all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar filling in.
Meanwhile, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly recently explained why he wanted Kuldeep Yadav to play at least three games,
Since the wrist-spinner failed to make the Playing XI for any of the matches from Headingley to London. Ganguly stated that India did not have a real spinner in any of the Tests to exploit the conditions in the United Kingdom.
“I wish Kuldeep had played in Manchester (fourth Test), Lord’s (third Test), or even Birmingham (second Test). Without quality spin, it will be difficult to send teams out on Day 5 of a Test. According to The Hindu, Ganguly claimed at a Bisk Farm function that there wasn’t a decent spinner on a field with some rough and turn.
“In the past, great teams have had great spinners, whether it’s (Shane) Warne, (Muttiah) Murali (tharan), (Graeme) Swann, (Monty) Panesar, (Anil) Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, or (Ravichandran) Ashwin. “Kuldeep is someone India should consider playing in the future,” he continued.
Sourav Ganguly was stunned that Mukesh Kumar was disregarded.
The former opening batsman also questioned Mukesh Kumar’s lack of knowledge about swing bowling. Ganguly believes that his statistics, particularly with the red ball, say volumes about his ability, and his absence surprised him. Furthermore, he reserved special admiration for skipper Shubman Gill, drawing a parallel between the times he led India to England and the current situation.
“I was surprised not to see Mukesh Kumar on the national squad, especially given the red ball. His domestic cricket records are incredible, and the conditions would have been great for him to bowl,” remarked the West Bengal native.
“We visited England in 2002 and 2007. Everyone scored nicely, from the first to the sixth hole. After a long time, I watched an Indian batting lineup in which everyone, from the top to the lower middle, had scored hundreds. Shubman has been great. If you delegate responsibilities, you will get people who can deliver. “Young Shubman, first hundred outside India (subcontinent), is batting superbly,” the former India captain added.
In the current series, Gill has scored the most runs for India and both teams combined. In nine innings, he has scored 743 innings and averaged 82.55. India, who made four changes to their team from the fourth Test, will want to draw level in the current encounter at The Oval.
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