Drop Kuldeep Yadav And Dig Your Own Grave: India’s Spin Suicide Could Backfire | Cricket News
India were thrashed by England in the first Test at Headingly, Leeds with hosts gaining advantage in the ongoing five-match Test series. England continued their winning run in the Bazball era specially at their home conditions with Ben Stokes led team sticking to their ‘famous Bazball’ style of attacking opponents from the first ball and playing intimidating cricket leaving several doubts in the opposition camp. Shubman Gill-led India would now look to make some key changed in the side and amend the mistakes they did at Leeds in order to turn the tables at Edgbaston. Despite reports suggesting India, eyeing to play two spinners in the lineup, Kuldeep Yadav can still see himself warming the bench over a Washington Sundar who can even bat a bit.
But Ignoring Kuldeep can be costly for India, Here’s why-
Need Attacking Bowlers
The aggressive scoring trends in the Bazball era have significantly altered the dynamics of Test cricket in England. Even when a team manages to claim all 20 English wickets, victory is no longer guaranteed. Amid this shift, India is reportedly considering a more conservative approach, possibly at the expense of fielding a specialist bowling lineup for the upcoming Test at Edgbaston.
England has consistently maintained a run rate above 4 in 16 of these matches, regardless of the venue. The lowest economy rate in a match where a team managed to defeat them stands at 3.55 achieved by South Africa at Lord’s in 2022. Even teams that emerged victorious, like Australia (in 2023 at Edgbaston and Lord’s) and Sri Lanka, had to endure high run rates of over four runs per over.
Historical Context
This context makes the possible omission of wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the Edgbaston Test a questionable decision. Historically, Edgbaston has offered more assistance to spin than most English venues. For instance, during Australia’s win there in 2023, Nathan Lyon was the standout bowler with two four-wicket hauls. R. Ashwin has publicly advocated for Kuldeep’s inclusion, emphasizing the impact a wrist-spinner can have at the venue.
Edgbaston has been the most fruitful ground for visiting spinners in England since 2000, being the only one where spinners have taken wickets at a strike rate below 60 and an average under 30. Kuldeep might just be India’s best option to counter England’s high-octane batting. Intriguingly, wrist spin has been underused against England in recent years only one over has been bowled in the past three years on English soil. Yet, England has averaged just 30.50 against wrist-spinners worldwide in that time, with Kuldeep himself claiming 19 of the 51 wickets to fall, with a strike rate of 36 and average of 20.6.
Washington Sundar indeed gives India the batting depth but India failed to win the first Test despite scoring 800 plus runs and it was because of their failed ability to take wickets. Taking 20 wickets is an art and it is a hard task without wicket-taking bowlers and adding to it Jasprit Bumrah getting rested makes it the best case for Kuldeep to be included.
Some notable stats highlight the potential impact of spin and the challenges for pace at Edgbaston:
4.96 – Visiting pacers have had the highest economy rate at Edgbaston among all English venues during the Bazball era.
5 – No frontline wrist-spinner has featured in a Test in England since Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan in 2020.
55.1 – Visiting spinners’ strike rate at Edgbaston across 20 Tests since 2000—the best among all English venues.
29.40 – The average for visiting spinners at Edgbaston this century, again the lowest in the country.
