Team India failed to hand a defeat to the hosts during the 1st Test match at Leeds as they eventually lost the encounter by 5 wickets despite having five centurions in their ranks. As a young team under Shubman Gill’s leadership looks to make a comeback in the Edgbaston Test, they will have serious doubts about the ability to take 20 wickets in the upcoming match especially given that Jasprit Bumrah may not feature in the fixture.
Bumrah could be replaced in the upcoming match by left arm pacer Arshdeep Singh. However, there is also a growing call in the cricket fraternity that India should include the services of wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the upcoming Test match in order to bolster the Indian bowling attack.
Michael Clarke given no-brainer choice to Gautam Gambhir:
Former Australian cricketer Michael Clarke has said in his Beyond 23 podcast that the inclusion of Yadav in playing XI should be a no brainer for the Edgbaston Test.
“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 do in this Test,” Clarke said on his podcast.
“India have 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,” he added.
Prior to Clarke, even former English star Nick Knight has also asked for the inclusion of Yadav for the 2nd Test match. He said, “I would be looking for every opportunity to play Kuldeep Yadav. England will find it hard against Kuldeep. If Kuldeep is on top of his game, that could be a defining moment in the series, or moments, because England likes to be aggressive. When you want to be aggressive, you have to be certain about which way the ball is turning. If there is a little bit of assistance from the pitch, Kuldeep will be able to bowl all his varieties,”
