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India have been advised to play Kuldeep Yadav in the 5th Test with Jasprit Bumrah expected to be ruled out as they seek parity in the series.
Kuldeep Yadav (center) is yet to feature on the ongoing England tour. (PTI Photo)
India’s quest to finish their England tour on level terms has suffered a setback with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah set to be ruled out from the 5th Test on the advice of BCCI’s medical team. In his absence, India might bring in Akash Deep who skipped the drawn 4th Test in Manchester due to a groin niggle.
There are reports that India may also give debut to left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh who is a regular in T20Is. Should that happen, Mohammed Siraj, who has played in all four Tests, will again lead the pace attack in Bumrah’s absence.
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Bumrah not part of the Test means the Shubman Gill-led side will be without a wicket-taking option and therefore, they must bring in left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, known for his attacking approach.
“India is at this stage of levelling the series despite the poor tactics and poor team selection, so that is my worry. It is a very simple philosophy India should have; they need a bowling attack that gets them 20 wickets. If Bumrah doesn’t play, then one of your main wicket-takers is out,” Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo.
“It is very obvious that Kuldeep Yadav has to come in. 20 wickets has to be the main goal because the batting seems okay. India can go without a pure batter because of the kind of Jadeja and Sundar form. Shardul Thakur goes and Kuldeep comes back in,” he added.
On Tuesday, during an interaction with the media, India batting coach said it hasn’t been decided whether Kuldeep will be part of the eleven at The Oval.
“Our captain and Head coach will sit down, discuss and decide. So, that hasn’t been decided today. And even if it’s decided, it’s not my place to declare that. But it will be decided tomorrow,” Kotak said.
India’s squad for 5th Test: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Arshdeep Singh, N Jagadeesan (wicketkeeper).
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital…Read More
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital… Read More
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