Sunil Joshi, the former chief selector, has advised the Indian coach-captain duo to not look at conditions to pick spinners as he revealed his ideal combination. In a message to captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid, a former chief selector has advised the two to not look at conditions to pick spinners as he revealed his ideal combination.
One of the biggest selection headaches for India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid would be picking the right combination of spinners for the impending and much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar series against Australia at home which begins in Nagpur from February 9 onwards. India have four options in hand – Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
Sunil Joshi Feels Kuldeep Yadav Should Be In India’s Playing XI For Knack Of Picking Wickets
According to the pecking order, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are obvious choices, given Ravindra Jadeja is available for the series, whose selection is subject to fitness. He did prove his fitness having played Saurashtra’s final Ranji Trophy 2023 league game against Tamil Nadu where he picked seven wickets in the second innings and bowled 41.1 overs in the match.
Axar Patel comes in next, and also stands as Ravindra Jadeja’s direct replacement in the all-rounder fails to pass the fitness test, while Kuldeep Yadav stands fourth. But Sunil Joshi, in a conversation, feels that India should pick Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI.
“One, because of his form – he’s been good in picking wickets. As a former cricketer, I look more closely at the way he is taking wickets: a spinner getting [the batter] out through the gate bowled, caught at slip, stumped getting to the pitch of the ball, miscuing the ball and getting caught at mid-off, mid-on. These are the areas of dismissal that a spinner would love to take,” he said.
In the last five years, Kuldeep Yadav has played only one Test match at home, in the Chennai tie against England two years back, where he picked two wickets in 6.2 overs in the second innings. His most recent heroics was against Bangladesh in the Chattogram Test where he had picked a record five-wicket in a winning cause, while also showing his class through a valiant knock down the order.
Sunil Joshi:Kuldeep Yadav Will Play A Major Part If India Have To Win Against Australia
Sunil Joshi feels that India should stop looking at conditions and pick china-man leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav on the XI, backing the leg-spinner to play a “major part” in the series.
“If Ashwin is our first option, and if Jadeja is not available, then it should Kuldeep and Axar. If Jaddu is available and they are playing three spinners, Kuldeep should play. Don’t look at the venues or whether our spinners will do well or not at them. Look at the way Kuldeep has picked up wickets.”
“In whatever series he has played recently, whether it is red- or white-ball, his dismissals are in the range of [being caught] within the 30-yard circle. That is a great thing for a bowler because it shows you have been very consistent with your line and length. If India have to win against Australia, Kuldeep will play a major part,” he said.
Kuldeep Yadav picked 8 wickets in his last Test against Bangladesh but was surprisingly benched for the 2nd Test despite getting MOM in the 1st Test. His career-best figures of 5/40 also came during that Test. He has so far picked 34 scalps in only 8 Tests averaging only 21.56. Since February 2019, he has featured in only 2 Tests.
On the other hand, Axar Patel has also played in 8 Tests but has taken more wickets- 47 compared to Kuldeep Yadav. He already has five 5 wicket hauls. He had a dream debut in the 2021 England series where he took 27 wickets in 3 Tests averaging 10.59.