Former India cricketer Saba Karim believes Shubman Gill & Co. should include Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test match against England set to be played at Edgbaston. Karim stated that the Chinaman relishes bowling against England and has had great success against them over the years across the formats. India played only one spinner in Ravindra Jadeja in the Leeds Test, as the visitors suffered a massive five-wicket loss, as the hosts chased 371 on the last day of the Test.
Jadeja proved highly ineffective on Day Five Leeds surface, which offered some help for spinners rather than the other days of the Test. The seamers India played, barring Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur, also did not trouble the English batters consistently.
During a discussion on Sony Sports, Karim opined that Kuldeep Yadav should play the second Test as the England batters have always found the going tough against him.
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"Stats are the witness. Kuldeep Yadav took 17 wickets against England in the home series. When he releases the ball, no English batter is able to understand it. So why aren't you playing that kind of bowler? He is an attacking bowler for you. India needs attacking bowlers at the moment," he said.
India should play four potent bowlers if Nitish Reddy plays: Saba Karim
The former wicketkeeper-batter also said that India should go with four bowlers if they decide to play all-rounder Nitish Reddy for the second Test.
"If you are playing a batting all-rounder in the form of Nitish Kumar Reddy, the four remaining bowlers need to be wicket-taking options. India will have to go with bold moves. There is no need for defensive decisions. We are trailing 1-0, this is the time to take courageous and bold decisions which will be in India's favor," Saba observed.
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So far in his brief Test career, Kuldeep has managed to pick up 56 wickets at an average of 22.16 in 13 Tests. He also played a starring role in four home Tests against England last year, picking up 19 wickets.
