Kuldeep Yadav should walk into India’s XI in place of Ravindra Jadeja even if it means sacrificing batting depth

India’s rejigged squad includes three potential ‘replacements’ – Kuldeep Yadav, the out-and-out specialist wrist-spinner, Washington Sundar and Saurabh Kumar. Ravindra Jadeja took an eternity to drag himself off the park on Sunday afternoon. A slice of brilliance from Ben Stokes, tumbling at mid-on to make a diving stop and then back-handing the ball at the stumps at the non-striker’s end when still lying on the ground, had resulted in the nimble-footed left-hander being run out. As he trudged towards the dressing room, a million depressing thoughts must have flooded Jadeja’s mind space. With his dismissal, India’s last realistic chance of hunting down a target of 231 had all but disappeared. More damagingly from a longer-term perspective, Jadeja must have known that his immediate participation in the series was in serious doubt. Clutching his left hamstring almost instantaneously after the ball disturbed the bails, Jadeja winced and hobbled off. Official confirmation of his unavailability for India’s second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, beginning on Friday, came more than 24 hours later but by then, it was an open secret that the left-handed all-rounder wouldn’t play any part in the hosts’ first bid to level the series.

Selecting a Suitable Replacement for Ravindra Jadeja

India will go into the second Test without three of their more experienced players. Virat Kohli had already withdrawn from the first two games due to personal reasons, and KL Rahul joined Jadeja in the infirmary with a quadriceps injury. None of the three is readily replaceable, but no one is more indispensable than Jadeja. If there was a multi-format MVP poll across the country, Jadeja would comfortably head the list because of all-around virtuosity.

The sometimes under-appreciated Saurashtra all-rounder is essentially three cricketers rolled in one – a multi-gear left-handed batter who has grown immensely as a Test-match willow-wielder in the last half-dozen years, a canny, crafty left-arm spinner without the frills and the dramatics of, say, an R Ashwin, and a terrier in the field who can, and often has, shaped outcomes with his fielding alone. Since the beginning of 2016, in 53 Tests, he averages more than 40 with the bat and less than 25 with the ball. In that period, he supplanted Ashwin as India’s lead spinner overseas, which puts his bowling numbers in greater perspective. How does India fill that giant hole in Visakhapatnam? Who do they turn to?

India’s rejigged squad for the next game includes three potential ‘replacements’ – Kuldeep Yadav, the out-and-out specialist wrist-spinner, Washington Sundar and Saurabh Kumar. In most other sides, the 29-year-old Kuldeep would have played as the No. 1 spinner but the presence of Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar Patel, who are all more than competent batters, has reduced Kuldeep to just eight appearances since his terrific debut against Australia in Dharamsala seven years back.

 Kuldeep Yadav Dilemma: Bowling Dynamism vs. Batting Depth

Kuldeep has 34 wickets in those eight games and was the Player of the Match in his last Test, against Bangladesh in Chattogram in December 2022. Logically, he should walk into the XI to fill the void created by the hamstrung Jadeja, and even more so because a left-arm wrist-spinner, or a Chinaman bowler, is still a novelty in the five-day game. England will be confronted with a new challenge so they seek to extend their faith in the sweep and the reverse sweep because a wrist-spinner presents a whole new dynamic; India will be well advised to go with Kuldeep, who has been outstanding in white-ball cricket for a long time now, even if it means sacrificing a batting option.

Should they, however, insist on batting depth, Sundar will be the favourite to play his first Test since March 2021, against the same opposition in Ahmedabad. The 24-year-old isn’t quite the same force with the ball – he has just six wickets in four Tests, where he has bowled fewer than 90 overs in all – but he does boast three half-centuries, a highest of 96 not out and an average of 66.25 in six innings. Will India be tempted to overlook his modest bowling record and go by his volume of Test runs? One would hope not, because even though Sundar has come on tremendously as a bowler since his last Test, Kuldeep is a far more attacking bet and that’s precisely what is the need of the hour with India forced to play catch-up following defeat in Hyderabad.

Saurabh, yet to play a Test though he was a part of the squad that toured Bangladesh, is a steady rather than supremely skilled performer. He is coming off a five-wicket haul for India ‘A’ against England Lions last week, and while he does boast impressive first-class credentials, it is hard to see him nudging ahead of Kuldeep or Sundar in the selection stakes. Everything points towards Kuldeep, but then again.

Also Read: Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul Ruled Out of Second Test Against England, Squad Changes Announced

Final Thought

The absence of Ravindra Jadeja poses a significant challenge for India as they seek to level the series against England. The choice between Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar as a replacement is a crucial decision that must strike a balance between wicket-taking ability and batting depth. While Kuldeep’s aggressive wrist spin offers a unique advantage, Sundar’s batting prowess cannot be ignored. The final selection will depend on India’s strategy and the approach they adopt in the absence of Jadeja’s multi-dimensional skills.

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