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The Kuldeep paradox that regularly stumps India
The left-arm wrist spinner takes 5/82 on Day 3 of the Delhi Test after not getting a game in England
New Delhi: There wasn’t much in the wicket. That much Ravindra Jadeja had already indicated in his press conference after Day 2 of the second Test on Saturday. “It’s hard work,” he had said.
And true to his words, the Kotla wicket was its best for batting on Sunday. The turn was slow, the bounce was true and West Indies batters made the most of the conditions and a flagging Indian bowling attack to reach 178/2 after being asked to follow on early on Day 3. They still trail India’s first innings total by 97 runs.
John Campbell (87) and Shai Hope (66), with his first fifty in 32 innings, put together a 138-run stand that would have had the hosts questioning their decision to enforce the follow-on in the first place.
But just as important as the West Indies fightback was the three wickets that Kuldeep Yadav took in the morning session to help his team take control and eventually bowl the visitors out for 248 in the first innings, The wicket wasn’t doing much even then but the left-arm wrist-spinner’s mystery was enough to give India a massive advantage.
He dismissed Shai Hope for 36 off 57 balls with a delivery that took sharp turn, and an over later he got rid of the other overnight batter, Tevin Imlach, before getting his third for Sunday morning when he trapped Justin Greaves leg before for 17.
Khary Pierre and Anderson Phillip put on a stubborn stand of 46 to steer their team through to lunch.
However, in the opening over after lunch, Jasprit Bumrah bowled Pierre for 23, and Kuldeep finally completed his fifer by trapping Seales lbw for 13.
When one watches him bowl and have an impact in tough conditions, it is hard to understand how India decide against picking him for every match they play. The five-Test series in England saw him warm the bench as Shubman Gill and the team management decided to go for the allround package that is Washington Sundar.
For context, Kuldeep averages 22.80 for his 47 wickets at home and 19.55 for his 18 wickets in away Tests. And in the 28 innings he had the opportunity to bowl in, the 30-year-old has five five-wicket hauls and three four-wicket hauls.
Kuldeep’s 5/82 in the first innings was his fifth career five-wicket haul – the joint most by any left-arm wrist spinner along with England’s Johnny Wardle. However, Kuldeep became the fastest to the feat, reaching the milestone in just 15 appearances, while the former England bowler took 28 Tests.
These are the kind of numbers that every side would love their bowler to have. They prove he is a wicket-taking, match-winning bowler. Part of the reason for his success, as India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate put it, is his mystery.
“I think, obviously, the difference with Kuldeep is that he’s a mystery spinner,” said ten Doeschate after play on Day 3. “He’s not the easiest to pick, so I think that buys him a little bit more evidence of danger compared to the finger spinners. Kuldeep puts them all into the right areas and spins it both ways. You can see how small the line is — compared to getting an edge and not getting a wicket and how he goes through it.”
This mystery also makes him a proper wicket-taking option regardless of conditions. So, how difficult is it to look past him when picking the playing XI?
“It is very difficult and I just cast my mind back to all the discussions around teams and how we try to fit him in,” said ten Doeschate. “I think we got the wickets in England pretty spot on — they were very high-scoring Tests and we were always trying to balance between playing a batting allrounder and playing three guys at the end who don’t really bat.”
He added: “He has shown that even on unresponsive pitches (he can be effective) and that makes you think that maybe in Manchester or Headingley. But those are calls that you have to make in real time and we always try to figure out what is best. Then we go with it and the players have been brilliant at buying into it.
“But Kuldeep has done himself some favours… looking forward, if we do have to make a brave call where we want to win Test matches, maybe we do go a batter short and play Kuldeep judged on how he has played these two Tests.
And that in a nutshell is the paradox of Kuldeep. The idea of him not playing challenges our understanding of the game. It makes one wonder whether his talent is being wasted, but maybe, just maybe, on a dull, sleepy Day 3, India might just have gained him again.
