Kuldeep Yadav To Be Snubbed For 5th Test Too? Shubman Gill's 'Jadeja, Sundar No-Brainer' Comment Reveals Strategy

NDTV

4 days ago

Will Kuldeep Yadav play the India vs England 5th Test or will he be snubbed again? That's the big question as India get down to action in the series-decider starting on Thursday. Ahead of the fifth Test against England at The Oval, Indian skipper Shubman Gill spoke on the availability of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and the possibility of handing the debut Test cap to left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh. While he directly did not say anything on Kuldeep Yadav missing or playing the fifth Test, this is what Shubman Gill said when asked: "First look of the wicket and you are saying you will decide (the playing XI) later. But England have not gone ahead with specialist spinner Liam Dawson in this game. Are India going to think on those lines?"
Gill replied: "We are going to decide our playing XI later in the evening. England haven't gone with a frontline spinner. Jacob Bethell and Joe Root - I think they are going to have their spinning options with them. Luckily for us, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar have done such a good job with the ball and the bat. On their front, it's a no-brainer for us," he said.
He never mentioned the specialist spinner's role. Going by his statement, it can be safely assumed that India, till Wednesday evening, was not thinking about a specialist spinner in the playing XI.
Team India, motivated on a psychological front following a hard-fought draw at Old Trafford, will be aiming to level the series when the final Test kickstart from Thursday. One of the key talking points ahead of the Test is Bumrah's availability, who was confirmed to be playing three Tests out of five ahead of the series. During the Manchester Test, he produced his most expensive Test figures of 2/112 and had struggles with his fitness too.
Speaking about Bumrah's availability ahead of the game in a presser, Gill said, "We are going to take a decision tomorrow. The wicket looks pretty green, so we will see how it turns out."
So far in the series, Bumrah has been the second-highest wicket-taker and India's top bowler with 14 scalps at an average of over 26, with two five-wicket hauls to his name.
Gill also said that the call on Arshdeep, who is already India's top T20I wicket-taker, will be taken later in the evening.
"He is definitely being asked to get ready. Like I said, we are going to make a decision later this evening. I will go and have a look at the wicket. I have not had a chance to look at the wicket. See how the weather is going to be in the next five days and then make a decision," he added.
Arshdeep has experience playing in England, considering his past exploits in the County Championship. After a 17-wicket campaign in the IPL 2023, he signed for Kent and scalped 13 wickets from five matches.
In 21 first-class games, Arshdeep has taken 66 wickets at an average of 30.37, with best figures of 6/40 and two fifers in 37 innings.
Gill said that the series has been a "great learning curve" for him as a captain, and the scoreline is not a true reflection of how well India has played.
"I think every match that we have played, it was very difficult to decide which team was going to win after four days of cricket. If we are able to do that for every match, for four matches, coming outside of India with a relatively young team, I think it is going to be a big achievement for us if we are able to level the series," he said