Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has suggested the changes that India should make for the upcoming Test match against England at Edgbaston. He noted the importance of bringing Kuldeep Yadav in the side in order to take advantage of the spin friendly conditions.
Speakig on Match Centre Live, Manjrekar said, “Kuldeep Yadav has to come back. I’m sorry to say, but Shardul Thakur has to go out,”
“That is one change India will have to make. As for Nitish Kumar Reddy – I backed him for the first Test purely based on what he did in Australia. It’s an unpopular choice, because when he comes in, the balance does get affected a bit. He won’t quite bowl like a fourth seamer, so India need to take a hard call: even in English conditions, they must go with quality bowlers.” he added
“If that means playing two spinners, so be it. Pick your best bowlers, irrespective of the conditions. You don’t have the luxury of someone like Mohammed Shami available, or the full-strength pace battery, so I’d go one seamer short and bring Kuldeep into the XI. He has to play.” the former cricketer further noted.
Go back to playing three spinners, says Manjrekar:
The former cricketer noted that English summers are largely dry now a days which opens the gate for spin friendly tracks where Kuldeep should come in handy.
“Let’s also acknowledge that English summers these days are largely dry – thanks to global warming, perhaps – and that does open the door for spin. In a way, it’s time to reintroduce the idea of India playing spin in England. Ben Stokes has already changed the narrative with common-sense, aggressive cricket. India need to embrace the same clarity.” he noted.
Manjrekar stated that India should not play an extra spinner just for the sake of adding balance in the side. For the upcoming match, he noted that India should drop Shardul Thakur and bring in Kuldeep Yadav along with Nitish Kumar Reddy.
