Kuldeep Yadav after taking a five wicket haul against Bangladesh in Chattogram. (AP)
Spin, flight, turn, bounce, as well as accuracy – all the qualities one associates with a top-class spinner were on display when Kuldeep Yadav made his comeback to Test cricket in Chattogram last week. So what do Indian team management do? Drop him for the second Test in a decision that has had Sunil Gavaskar almost reaching out for a cuss word.
It’s not a decision that’s likely to affect the Test match result probably, but the issue here was how a bowler who desperately needs confidence and backing has been dumped yet again. Wrist-spinners generally need a sympathetic captain. More so Kuldeep. This is a bowler who broke down on the field after being hit for a few sixes in an IPL game. The decision in Dhaka would feel like a kick to the guts.
Kuldeep’s plight shows the state in which the game is in India. For all the solid bench strength touted time and again, with some saying that India can field two simultaneous teams of high quality, the ICC trophy cabinet is vacant for a decade as the resources at hand are not utlilised in optimum fashion. (READ MORE)