I feel India can't leave Kuldeep Yadav out again: Brad Hogg
According to Brad Hogg, Team India might not leave Kuldeep Yadav out of the playing XI if they field three spinners in the upcoming Tests against England.
The visiting batsmen dominated the Indian bowling attack on the opening two days of the first Test match. Courtesy Joe Root's double century, England took a massive 241-run first-innings lead.
Team India raised many eyebrows when they preferred Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar, and Shahbaz Nadeem for the Chennai Test. Nadeem was roped in as a last-minute injury replacement for Axar Patel, while wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was left on the bench.
Replying to a fan who was concerned about Shahbaz Nadeem's spot in the Indian cricket team, Brad Hogg wrote on Twitter:
"I hope he (Shahbaz Nadeem) has a good day. I feel they can't leave Kuldeep out again if they go with three spinners."
The conditions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium were not the best for the spinners on the opening two days. Ravichandran Ashwin and Shahbaz Nadeem could scalp only five wickets in their 99.1 overs, while Washington Sundar remained wicketless in his 26-over spell.
Nadeem picked up the crucial wickets of Joe Root and Ben Stokes. While Shahbaz's performance was not that bad, many feel Kuldeep Yadav should have received a place in the XI.
Kuldeep Yadav has an exceptional record in Test matches at home
Kuldeep Yadav has not been so successful in limited-overs cricket of late, as he was earlier in his career. However, his numbers are excellent in the game's longest format.
Kuldeep Yadav has featured in three home Tests, picking up 14 wickets at an average of 24.29. His strike rate is close to 40, while his best figures at home are 5/57. Still, the team management has surprisingly ignored him despite multiple injuries in the Indian camp.
It will be interesting to see whether Team India persists with the same spin trio or includes Kuldeep Yadav in the remaining games.