Baffled Sunil Gavaskar Blasts India XI vs England: "Kuldeep Yadav Wasn't Picked, Top-Order Is Not Getting..."

NDTV

3 days ago

Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian cricket team captain, was unhappy with the side's combination for the second Test against England that started in Birmingham on Wednesday. India made three changes to the side that played the first Test including batting allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, spin allrounder Washington Sundar and pacer Akash Deep. However, specialist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was not picked. Gavaskar felt that the Birmingham pitch could have aided Kuldeep's skills.
"I'm a little baffled that Kuldeep wasn't picked, because on a pitch like this, where everybody says there's a little more turn," said on Sony Sports (via Sportskeeda)
"If your top-order batters are not giving you the runs you expect, then Washington at seven or Nitish Reddy at eight won't necessarily fix that, because those weren't the batters who failed you in the first Test. You scored 830 runs. You didn't score 380 in two innings — it was 830-plus. That's a lot of runs.
"So, where you needed strengthening was in the wicket-taking department, not so much in the batting."
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri expressed disbelief at India's decision to rest a fully fit Jasprit Bumrah from the second Test against England, asserting that the pace spearhead should not have been given the option to sit out of a crucial game. India, enduring a rough patch in Test cricket since October last year, have managed just one win in their last nine matches, marking their worst run in over a decade. Shubman Gill and his men lost the opening Test against England by five wickets in Leeds.
"If you look at the run, India has had, this becomes a very, very important test match. You've lost three against New Zealand, you've lost three against Australia," Shastri told 'Sky Sports'.
"You've lost the first Test match here and you want to get back to winning ways. You have the best fast bowler in the world, and you make him sit out after seven days of rest, it's something very hard to believe," he said.
Bumrah had claimed his 14th five-wicket haul in the first innings at Leeds.
After the toss on Wednesday, Gill told former England batter Michael Atherton that Bumrah was rested to manage his workload.
"Just to manage his workload. We did get a good break and this is an important match for us. But the third Test being at Lord's, we think there'll be more in that pitch so we'll use him there,' Gill said.