IND vs ENG: Did safety-first approach upset India’s bowling plans? | Cricket News
Kuldeep Yadav (Getty Images)
MANCHESTER: With every passing day on this tour, Kuldeep Yadav’s enthusiasm in the team’s nets sessions has visibly dipped. Before the third Test at Lord’s, he would even turn up at optional sessions and let it rip against the Indian batters. Coming to Manchester, though, Kuldeep has been taking it easy. He has been the most talkedabout absence in India’s playing XI in this series. And as things started unravelling for India at Old Trafford, his non-selection raised eyebrows. “Kuldeep is world class and he’s bowling really well at the moment. We’re trying our best to find ways for him to get in. But, unfortunately (we haven’t been able to), with just the balance with the batting,” Morkel said. TOI understands there was discussion around Kuldeep’s selection before the fourth Test. A part of the management contemplated playing him in the XI, but eventually a safetyfirst approach prevailed as Kuldeep’s batting went against him. Kuldeep has been deemed an inferior batter to Shardul Thakur, but Gill’s reluctance to throw the ball to Thakur is a giveaway that the Indian captain has very little faith in Thakur the bowler.
The two lower-order collapses in Leeds at the start of the series unsettled the team management and staying in the game longer by batting long became a priority. “There’s always the option of going in with quicks and picking your six best batters. We do have all those discussions. But, the guys who have played in the last two Test matches have done a good job in terms of spin bowling,” Morkel said, declaring it was Gill’s decision to bring Washington Sundar so late into the attack in England’s first innings. Anshul Kamboj has been another debatable selection. Again, the entire team management wasn’t on the same page. On the eve of the Test here, captain Shubman Gill had mentioned it was going to be a toss-up between Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna. It is learnt that even the idea of playing Kuldeep over Kamboj was suggested. Kamboj’s lack of pace in the first innings has become a major talking point. Playing him two days after he joined the team, after having just recovered from a shin injury, was a big call. It will be unfair to judge Kamboj based on what was seen in the first innings. Morkel said that they were looking at Kamboj to bear most of the workload so that Jasprit Bumrah could be used in shorter bursts. As it turned out, he bowled just 18 overs while Bumrah ended up bowling 33 overs. “Anshul arrived here and bowled well in the nets. We were looking at the volume of overs. He can nip it around at off-stump. Unfortunately, there’s no place to hide in international cricket,” Morkel said.
