The Indian team suffered a defeat in the ENG vs IND series opener despite five centuries coming from the batters across both innings. This highlighted the toothless bowling attack, which apart from Bumrah, looked to be struggling. While Mohammed Siraj didn’t look his best, Prasidh Krishna struggled with his length and Shardul Thakur wasn’t utilised to the best. Furthermore, experienced campaigner Ravindra Jadeja also didn’t exploit the conditions to the fullest as the Men in Blue failed to defend 371 runs in the final innings and the Three Lions sealed a comfortable five-wicket win.
Echoing on the same lines, former Australian skipper Michael Clarke urged India to include X-factor star Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test to make amends for the subpar show from the bowling department.
Speaking on the Beyond23 podcast, Clarke said, “Bowling-wise, I do not want to be hard on any individual, but I think they’ve got to play Kuldeep Yadav. I think it is an absolute no-brainer. I think he’s a wicket-taker and would have offered a lot more than what he saw the attack do in this Test.”
ALSO READ:
While the wrist spinner undoubtedly brings a wicket-taking factor alongside him, he was kept on the sidelines in a bid to maintain balance in the playing XI. Playing Kuldeep meant sacrificing a specialist batter or the experienced spinning all-rounder in Ravindra Jadeja. It also allowed the team management to play four seamers.
It remains to be seen if and how the selectors keep Kuldeep in the team but given the bowling performance in the first game, they are expected to give it a serious thought. They can either opt to play three seamers and two spinners or drop Jadeja for Kuldeep’s wicket-taking abilities. Also, the pitches in England might not be rank-turners, but they tend to progressively slow up and the spinners are likely to get purchase from Day3 or the final two days of a contest, which can make a considerable difference.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
