Despite being tempted to play second spinner in the second Test against England at Edgbaston, the Gill-Gambhir duo decided to snub Kuldeep, and instead picked Washington Sundar in the team. When asked about the reason behind snubbing Kuldeep, arguably a better spinner than Sundar, Gill cited ‘batting depth as the reason’.
“We were tempted to play Kuldeep (Yadav) but decided to add some depth to the batting,” he said.
Earlier, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif had said that it would be ‘unfair’ if Kuldeep isn’t picked in the team.
Gautam Gambhir seems to have played a role in Sundar’s selection over Kuldeep too. The head coach’s admiration for the spin-bowling all-rounder isn’t hidden from anyone. It is also well known that Gambhir prefers a utility player like Sundar over a one-dimensional player like Kuldeep.
It was also confirmed that India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will return to the playing eleven against England in the third Test at Lord’s next week after sitting out of the second match in Edgbaston, captain Shubman Gill said on Wednesday.
Bumrah was rested from the second Test, which began here on Wednesday, as part of his workload management. He played in the first Test at Leeds which India lost by five wickets.
“Third Test being at Lord’s, we think there’ll be more in that pitch so we’ll use him there,” Gill said at the toss for the second game here. The third Test is scheduled to start on July 10.
The Indian team management had declared at the start of the series that Bumrah will only play in three Tests out of five.
