Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes Kuldeep Yadav should not be sidelined so easily from the Test team. Yadav was not picked in the opening Test match against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai as the team management backed the experienced duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
As the Chepauk pitch was made of red soil, India decided to back three fast bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep. Mostly we have noticed that India plays with only two fast bowlers in the home conditions as the spinners do the bulk of the damage.
However, India’s decision to play three pacers was justified in the first innings as the pace trio picked eight wickets among them in the first innings.
Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo, “I feel Kuldeep Yadav should not be dropped so easily. I believe that even if it was not a turner, India would have benefited from playing Kuldeep Yadav in Chennai because the seamers will get help for just one or one-and-a-half days on an Indian pitch. It starts supporting spinners after that and when you have a bowler like Kuldeep Yadav, you should not keep him out this easily.
Manjrekar reckons India should play Kuldeep Yadav even if they decide to play on a green pitch as Siraj and Bumrah are enough to do the job.
“India should go with this approach in Kanpur. Even if it’s a green top and the sun is out, they should keep in mind that the green top will be just for the first few hours, and Siraj and Bumrah are enough for that. When you have three proven spinners, you should play all of them.” Manjrekar added.
On the other hand, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and talismanic batter Virat Kohli failed to deliver the goods in Chennai. Manjrekar reckons it was a mistake not to pick the veteran duo in the Duleep trophy as the lack of match practice led to their downfall.
“If you look at the form in just Test cricket, Virat Kohli is coming in with very good form. His last Test series was against South Africa where he was India’s best player. But one lesson that Indian cricket has learned is that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are big names and experienced players, but they are still humans. Because they play less red-ball cricket compared to white-ball cricket, when such a series comes, there is need for some match practice. Sunil Gavaskar always used to say this.
“Sachin Tendulkar also had to play a Ranji Trophy match when there was a dip in his form. Form will come, but I believe that when you are ageing, you need to be more prepared. It was a mistake to not make them play red-ball cricket, especially when there was the option of the Duleep Trophy.”
The second Test match between India and Bangladesh will be played at Green Park, Kanpur from September 27.
