In the second Test at Vizag, if the team decides to go with only one pacer, former India coach and bowling legend Anil Kumble suggests that Kuldeep Yadav should be included in the playing XI. India faced a surprising defeat in the first Test against England by 28 runs, despite initially being in control with a 190-run first-innings lead.
However, the home spinners proved ineffective against Ollie Pope’s impressive 196 in the second innings, conceding a total of 331 runs among the three of them. Despite Jasprit Bumrah’s standout performance, Mohammed Siraj struggled to make an impact, bowling 11 wicketless overs in the match.
Kuldeep Yadav will have variations- Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble, in a conversation with Jio Cinema, suggested that considering the variations Kuldeep Yadav offers, the team management should include him in the playing XI if they believe only one pacer is sufficient.
“I am not really sure whether you need a fourth spinner. But if India feels that they need only one fast bowler then having Kuldeep will certainly help. He will have variations but England will come and do the same things they did in Hyderabad. The wicket could be a turning one and we are expecting the pace to be quicker than this,”
Kuldeep Yadav, the 29-year-old left-arm chinaman bowler, has missed out on Test opportunities due to the consistency of frontline spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel. In his last Test appearance against Bangladesh in 2022, Kuldeep picked up a match-high eight wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings.
I felt the approach of a couple of batters wasn’t positive– Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble emphasized the need for Indian batters to exhibit more positivity and assured footwork against spin in the upcoming second Test against England. India faced a challenging target of 231 in the first Test against England, but debutant spinner Tom Hartley’s sensational bowling performance, claiming 7 wickets for 62 runs, led to India being bowled out for 202, resulting in a 28-run loss.
“This was slow but it was a good wicket if you applied yourself. India certainly needs to buckle up with their approach to playing against spin because I felt the approach of a couple of batters wasn’t positive and even the footwork wasn’t what you expected,” said Anil Kumble.
Anil Kumble, the former Indian leg-spinner and coach, expressed the need for improved bowling plans and more variations from the Indian bowlers in the second Test against England in Vizag. He noted that the English batters’ approach played a role in unsettling the Indian bowlers.
“I also felt that they were certainly rattled by the way England approached their batting and with that, they have to come up with plans, some unconventional ones. They never tried any variations so that’s something I am sure they will be looking to do,” he concluded.
India faced their first home defeat with a 100+ first-innings lead in the opening Test against England. With the series now at 1-0 in favor of England, the teams will quickly shift their focus to the second Test in Vizag, scheduled to commence on February 2.