Is India ready to rely on Kuldeep Yadav this series? Their answers may lie in the way they use their best spinner currently.
Kuldeep Yadav is ready to make an impact this series. Are India ready to unleash him ?
This was always going to be the major test for the new leadership group, which included vice-captain Rishabh Pant, coach Gautam Gambhir, and skipper Shubman Gill. Throughout this England tour, the coach and captain have made all the correct statements. In order to take 20 wickets as cheaply as possible, Gill has stated that he is willing to play four tailenders. Gambhir reaffirmed that taking 20 wickets is the first priority right after the Leeds loss.
India’s starting lineup at Headingley was as anticipated. In addition to providing them with a batsman at No. 8, Shardul Thakur’s inclusion in the team was expected to give them a better bowling option than Nitish Kumar Reddy did in Australia. But neither of the two aspects came to pass. Thakur was allowed to bowl only 16 overs out of the 182.4 that India sent down, despite scoring 1 and 4.
The issue is that, if you had seen them in Australia, this was a daring step for India in and of itself. They never used five real bowlers, although in one Test in Sydney they used three fast bowlers and three all-rounders (Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar). Also, collapses of 7 for 41 and 6 for 31 occurred at the same time as this “bold” move.
The overall flatness of English surfaces during the Bazball era and the abnormally dry English summer are begging for a little wristspin. Kuldeep Yadav would have been a top Test spinner in a different squad or age, but he now trails two spinners who are capable of reaching hundreds in Test cricket.
Fortunately, Kuldeep is still only thirty years old. After 13 Tests, he averages 22.16 and is currently at the top of his game. Unlike finger-Kuldeep has recently performed admirably against this batting lineup. During England’s 2024 tour of India, he claimed 19 wickets in four Test matches, including Player-of-the-Match in the final Test in Dharamsala. Despite being Indian pitches, these pitches did not spin as much as they have recently.
Against England, Kuldeep has an advantage that could cause even the smallest amount of anxiety, which Bazball finds intolerable. India can use one of the two extra seam bowlers in the team in the unlikely event that a green seamer is called up. Against finger-spinners, who require natural variety from worn-out surfaces to bring both edges into action, he can turn the ball both ways and performs more work in the air.
Kuldeep has recently performed admirably against this batting lineup. During England’s 2024 tour of India, he claimed 19 wickets in four Test matches, including Player-of-the-Match in the final Test in Dharamsala. Despite being Indian pitches, these pitches did not spin as much as they have recently.
Against England, Kuldeep has an advantage that could cause even the smallest amount of anxiety, which Bazball finds intolerable. India can use one of the two extra seam bowlers in the team in the unlikely event that a green seamer is called up.
In a perfect world, India’s Nos. 8 and 9 would be able to bat just as well, but they can’t keep risking losing 20 wickets for these extra runs. Kuldeep may be a tenacious companion for a top-seven hitter, while not being a quick scorer. He has been bowling a lot in the nets and on the side pitches at Leeds throughout every session break, so he is also not entirely forgotten by Indians.
There are plenty of echoes twenty years after what was perhaps the best and most competitive Ashes series ever.
The pitches are just as fantastic for hitting now as they were back then. Twenty years ago, England’s top wicket-taker was Andrew Flintoff, a talismanic all-rounder; today, Ben Stokes, his spiritual equal, appears to be their best bowler. Similar to Glenn McGrath in 2005, the opposition’s top fast bowler will miss two Test matches.
Shane Warne, the king of spin and a wrist-spinner, was the top wicket-taker at the time with 40. Therefore, the moment may be right to unleash cricket’s greatest wrist-spinner since Warne and Anil Kumble.