Indian team management has decided to release Kuldeep Yadav from the Test squad after Axar Patel has regained full fitness for the second Test against Sri Lanka.
Patel has made a glorious start to his Test career in 2021 and he has scalped 36 wickets in five Test matches. Thus, the orthodox left-arm spinner had finished the year as India’s second-highest wicket-taker.
India had played three spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jayant Yadav in the first Test match against the Island nation. However, Jayant Yadav had gone wicketless in both innings and had also failed to make any contribution with the bat. Thus, Axar Patel could replace Jayant Yadav if India once again decides to go with three spinners in their playing XI.
Patel had scalped 11 wickets against England in the pink-ball Test match in February 2021 and had done a fine job in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja.
After picking India’s Test squad, BCCI had earlier said, “Axar Patel is currently undergoing his rehab and is not available for selection for the first Test. He will be assessed later to ascertain his selection for the second Test.”
Meanwhile, Axar Patel has been out of action since the Mumbai Test match against New Zealand in December and he had also missed out on the tour of South Africa due to injury. As Patel was available for selection, Kuldeep was not needed in the squad.
On the other hand, India had won the first Test match against Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs, which is their second-biggest win against the opposition. Ravindra Jadeja was the star of the show as he scored an unbeaten knock of 175 runs and then took a total of nine wickets in the match.
The second Test match will be a pink-ball affair and will be played in Bengaluru from March 12.
India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, R. Ashwin (subject to fitness clearance), Axar Patel, Saurabh Kumar, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain).
