5 reasons why India must pick Kuldeep Yadav in the Test squad vs England
The whole of the English fraternity right now seems to be talking about just one man from the visiting Indian camp - Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm chinaman spinner, who put in Man of the match performance on Thursday with figures of 6 for 25, has baffled the English players in two of the three matches he has played thus far on tour.
Another performance similar to his display on Thursday this weekend could clinch the series for India. The conclusion of this series would leave India with the huge proposition of winning a five-Test series, which begins from the 1st of August at Edgbaston. While the squad for that is yet to be announced, purely based on form, Kuldeep should be involved to take on the hosts in the red-ball format.
With that in mind, here are five reasons why he merits a place in that squad:
#5 Current form
As mentioned in the introduction, Kuldeep's current form needs to be considered. There are two more matches left in the ODI series and if he can maintain his wicket-taking knack in those matches, then it would only further tempt Virat Kohli into picking him in the side.
The ball seems to be coming out well from his hand and the control over his conventional delivery and the googly seems to be excellent, at present. What he must not is to try and get carried away with his exploits at Trent Bridge.
Lord's on Saturday could pose a different challenge but if he can overcome that and succeed then he could well be a strong contender for the longer format of the game.
It is almost certain that R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will retain their spots in the Test squad, but the inclusion of Kuldeep amongst them could add another dimension to an already varied Indian bowling unit.