Sunil Gavaskar has reckoned that chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav may find himself out of the team for the pink-ball Test against England which starts from February 24. Explaining his point, the 7-year-old said that India would prefer going in the match with three seamers in Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. The former India captain added that Bumrah replacing Kuldeep in the squad could be the only change for India.
Sunil Gavaskar added that all-rounder Hardik Pandya could “also slot in” but expressed doubt over his fitness to bowl in the match.
‘I’m not sure if Hardik Pandya is fit enough to bowl, because if he is, he can also slot in and India might actually go with a combination depending on the surface. I don’t know what the surface at the new Motera will be like, but my feeling is that they will definitely go with three seam bowlers and two seamers,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports network.
“Bumrah for sure will be back in the team. You’ll probably have a new-ball attack in Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj as your three new-ball bowlers, and Kuldeep he may find himself out of the team because it’s a pink ball Test. The ball does tend to do a little bit more as evening approaches. And once you play under lights, it’s a completely different seam so I would imagine that would be the only change, Bumrah coming in place of Kuldeep,” he added.
Notably, Kuldeep played his first Test match in more than 2 years when he took the field against England in the 2nd Test match. The 26-year-old 12.2 overs in the match scalped 2 wickets.
