Michael Clarke suggests key change for 2nd ENG vs IND 2025 Test, backs India to play Kuldeep Yadav

Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke said it is no-brainer that India would need to play Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test match against England. Ravindra Jadeja was backed as the solitary spinner in the opening Test but the experienced all-rounder could only take a single wicket.

Meanwhile, Yadav has scalped 56 wickets in 13 Test matches at an impressive average of 22.16. Against England, Kuldeep has bagged 21 wickets in six Test matches at an impressive average of 22.28.

India lost the opening Test by five wickets and the visitors would aim to bounce back strongly in the second game. Barring Bumrah, India’s bowling looked toothless in the opening match of the series.

“Bowling wise, I do not want to be hard on any individual but I think they’ve got to play Kuldeep Yadav. I think it is an absolute no brainer. I think he’s a wicket-taker and would have offered a lot more than what he saw the attack did in this Test match. Bumrah’s a star, he’s leading that attack. But the other three fast bowlers, yes at stages bowled well, but they need to find more ways of taking wickets, more options, and their execution has probably got to be better,” Michael Clarke said on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast on his YouTube channel.

The 2015 World Cup winning captain said Ravindra Jadeja could not create an impact, which was expected of him.

“Jadeja didn’t have the impact that I thought he might have. Particularly in the second innings I thought there was lot of rough to the left-hander. I thought he bowled a little bit straight. He could have been a bit wider into the rough, and even to the right-hander, utilize over the wicket into the rough looking for that LBW in front of the stumps,” he explained. 

Clarke said India must look to find ways to pick 20 wickets in the second Test, and for that, they must include Kuldeep Yadav.

“India has done this for a while. They care so much about extra batting or stacking the batting deep and they are willing to risk picking the number one spinner to do that. I think to win in England you’ve got to look to pick 20 wickets. The first thing you think about is how do we take 20 wickets to win the game. Once you’ve got the bowling attack that can do that, then I think you can pick the other guys around that. I think they might have missed a trick in that first Test match,” he pointed out. 

“Kuldeep is ready. Give him a chance. Yes he might go for runs but he can take wickets. He can bowl the opposition out in the second innings. He bowls from the back of the hand. He is confident. He is at the top of his game. I’m really hoping they make that change,” he said.

The second Test match between India and England will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from July 2nd onwards.