The Men in Blue started off their tour in England with a victory in the Twenty20 International series by a 2-1 margin. However, the No. 1 One-day International side in the world England proved their worth in the series by clinching it 2-1. They were thoroughly outplayed in the opening ODI in Nottingham. But the Three Lions bounced back strongly to win the series.
For the visitors, Kuldeep Yadav has been one of the top performers. In six limited-overs matches against England, Kuleep bagged 14 wickets. It also includes 11 wickets in just a couple of matches.
The Uttar Pradesh-based spinner bamboozled the English batters with his variations. He bagged five wickets in the opening T20I while returned with the best figures by a spinner in ODI’s in England during the opening ODI.
Kuldeep bagged six for 25 as India registered a comprehensive victory.
For the home team, Adil Rashid performed quite brilliantly in the limited-overs format. However, he has not played red-ball cricket for a long time.
The English selectors in all likelihood will name him in the squad. It was due to his heroics in the limited-overs leg that Kuldeep managed to retain his place in the Test side.
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Ashwin and Jadeja has been the preferred spinners in home conditions
In home conditions, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are the preferred first-choice spin pair. However, in England, Kuldeep has a high possibility of being in the playing XI.
But former Indian middle-order batsman, Sanjay Manjrekar doesn’t like the idea of including wrist spinners in the Test squad on the basis of their performance in the limited-overs circuit.
Kuldeep has impressed all and sundry. He made a dream Test debut against Australia, last year.
The left-arm chinaman bowler bagged four crucial wickets and it will be interesting to see whether he can again spin a web around the English batsmen or not.
Taking to his Twitter handle Sanjay Manjrekar had written, “Not liking the trend of wrist spinners getting ahead in the race for spots in Tests based on their limited overs performances.”
However, Twitterati started trolling him for the same. This is not the first time that the commentator draws ire from the fans due to his rather unusual posts.
There are many experts who feel that Ashwin and Jadeja have not done enough overseas. Hence, Kuldeep might well be the first-choice spinner in the series.
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(Photo Source: BCCI)
Here are the reactions
If wrist spinners can deceive batsmen through deception in ODIs, surely test matches shud be no exception. Shadab Khan is an example in recent times.Kuldeep has to play along with Ashwin in tests.Chahal has disappointed. His googly doesn't turn enough. Tries to bowl -ve lines
— Jayesh Nair (@JayeshNair) July 21, 2018
Coz there is no wrist spinner from Mumbai lol
— G K PRABHU (@gkprabhu) July 21, 2018
Yasir Shah was very successful in England so its not a bad idea to include kuldeep,Quality wrist spinners can play a good role in England.
— Kaiser Makhdoomi (@kais6373) July 21, 2018
Just because Rohit Sharma From Mumbai wasnt included in Tests.
— Saurav Taragi (@LifevsZindagi) July 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/pijurocks/status/1020570759473770496
Are u talking about Kuldeep? He performed against Australia, best Test team!?
— Adrian Gay (@AdrianG37) July 21, 2018
@imkuldeep18 has played 2 tests and bowled match winning four fors in both. So its not too unfair. Also how else do they prove themselves
— Avishek Ghosh (@avishek_g) July 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/justaname99/status/1020550351152459777
Kuldeep would do a better job than Ashwin in the test matches in England, most definitely. Although, if the conditions dictate, they could both play.
— Jiten Chandarana (@jitenchandarana) July 21, 2018