India head coach Gautam Gambhir's obsession with having more all-rounders in the playing XI, in order to balance the batting and the bowling department, adding more depth to both, is no secret to anyone. And it was once again on display when India made as many as three changes for the second Test match against England in Birmingham on Wednesday. However, with Kuldeep Yadav paying the price yet again, experts were left baffled, one of whom ridiculed Gambhir for offering the spinner an alternate route to crack the selection criteria.
Taking to social media, former Indian cricketer Dodda Ganesh was baffled at Kuldeep's absence from the playing XI. Taking a dig at Gambhir, Ganesh urged Kuldeep to excel as a top-order batter during the upcoming Ranji Trophy season for Uttar Pradesh to get through to the playing XI.
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“Kuldeep should bat in top 3 for Uttar Pradesh in the #RanjiTrophy and get some runs, to be picked to play for India in the tests. I don’t see any other way he can force his way back into this setup where one’s secondary skill dictates the team selection,” he tweeted.
Why did India not pick Kuldeep Yadav?
Kuldeep was highly backed for a place in the playing XI amid the debate around Jasprit Bumrah's availability for the Edgbaston Test. With India struggling to pick wickets in the series opener in Leeds, where Bumrah was the only standout bowler, with a first-innings five-wicket haul, the leg-spinner was touted to make his second appearance in Test cricket in English soil.
{{/usCountry}}Kuldeep was highly backed for a place in the playing XI amid the debate around Jasprit Bumrah's availability for the Edgbaston Test. With India struggling to pick wickets in the series opener in Leeds, where Bumrah was the only standout bowler, with a first-innings five-wicket haul, the leg-spinner was touted to make his second appearance in Test cricket in English soil.
{{/usCountry}}However, the team management backed all-rounder Washington Sundar as the second spinner alongside Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI.
"We were tempted to play Kuldeep but looking at the last match, our lower order didn't do well, so decided to add some depth to the batting," captain Shubman Gill explained after losing the toss and put to bat first in Birmingham.