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Why was Kuldeep Yadav not picked in India's XI for 2nd Test? Captain Shubman Gill gives clear but unsatisfactory answer
Shubman Gill said they wanted more depth in batting and hence, Washington Sundar, was chosen as the second spin-bowling option over Kuldeep Yadav.
Contrary to popular beliefs and, dare we say, even cricketing logic, India kept Kuldeep Yadav out of the playing XI for the second Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. They did pick a second spin-bowling option, though, in the form of all-rounder Washington Sundar to pair with Ravindra Jadeja. India captain Shubman Gill said they were "tempted" to play Kuldeep, who is, mind you, the lone specialist spinner in India's Test squad, after what transpired in the series opener at Headingley but in the end, batting depth is what they went with.
Among the slew of changes that India made, which former pacer Varun Aaron described as "pressing the panic button", the two most significant ones were the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and the non-selection of Kuldeep Yadav.
Bumrah was, of course, the expected one considering his workload. "Just to manage this workload, you know, I think we did carry a good break, but it was important for us (to give Bumrah more time)," said India captain Shubman Gill at the toss.
India vs England live Score, 2nd Test
Gill also added that the third Test being at Lord's, where seamers historically enjoy bowling, also played a part in selecting which matches Bumrah would play in the series. "I think this is an important match for us, but I think the third match of the series is being given lots, there might be a chance that there might be a little bit more in the wicket than this one, so we thought we'd bring him better now," he added.
Shubman Gill reveals why Kuldeep Yadav was not picked in India's XI for 2nd Test
Former England captain Michael Atherton, who was the presenter at the toss, did not waste any time to straightaway put Gill in the hot seat by asking about Kuldeep Yadav's continuous non-selection. Atherton asked why India were reluctant to play Kuldeep in Test matches, as the left-arm spinner has only played 13 Tests ever since making his debut in 2017. Kuldeep's last Test appearance was against New Zealand at home last year.
Gill said they wanted more depth in the batting unit and hence, Sundar, who is a far better option with the bat, was chosen as the second spin-bowling option over Kuldeep.
"We were very tempted to play him, but, you know, looking at the last match, we wanted to add a bit of depth in the batting, and that's what we have done," Gill said.
India's decision to pick another all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, may have also played a part in the non-selection of Kuldeep. The reason why the Indian think tank felt the need to add more depth to the batting was the complete surrender of the lower-order in both innings at Headingley. Besides, they also decided to drop Sai Sudharsan, a specialist batter and go with an all-rounder, which meant India needed to have an extra batter.
England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bowl first. England went with the same XI that beat India in the first Test.
