 "‘It was a no-brainer’: Ashwin slams Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir as India stare at another loss")
Ravichandran Ashwin has strongly criticised India’s team management for not picking Kuldeep Yadav in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series against England. Speaking on his YouTube channel after Day 2 of the fourth Test in Manchester, Ashwin said it was an obvious decision to play Kuldeep but Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir made a mistake by leaving him out.
Ashwin explained that after Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out from the No.6 spot, Kuldeep should have walked into the playing XI. Reddy suffered an injury before the start of the fourth Test and was released from the squad for the remainder of the series. Shardul Thakur was brought back into the playing XI for the must-win clash at Old Trafford.
Ashwin unhappy with Kuldeep’s snub
However, Ashwin believes that the Indian team management made the wrong call by not picking Kuldeep in his place. He also said India could have rotated their spinners better. The veteran spinner also criticised India’s obsession with extra batting depth in Test matches.
“Once Nitish Kumar Reddy went out of the picture at No. 6, it was a no-brainer to play Kuldeep Yadav. Fifteen full days of cricket have already been played, your fast bowlers are tired, Siraj was tiring. Even though Bumrah’s workload has been managed, it’s still not easy. Kuldeep Yadav is a serious miss for India, and England are ahead in the Test,” Ashwin said.
“If somebody would have told me that Kuldeep Yadav will not be playing any part in the first four Tests, I would have been very very surprised. Unfortunately, it is our obsession with batting, and looking for those 20-30 extra runs. Gone are those days in England, that advantage of 20-30 runs is gone. If your No.7 makes 30 runs, and your No. 8 makes 30 runs, you have extra 60 runs. Earlier that 60 runs used to be very useful, because bowlers used to get help from the pitch," he added.
India’s decision to play an all-rounder instead of Kuldeep has backfired as England continue to dominate the ongoing fourth Test. After bowling India out for 358 in the first innings, England piled up 544/7 on Day 3, taking a huge 186-run lead. Joe Root’s 150 and Ben Stokes’ unbeaten 77 have put the hosts in a commanding position.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWith England firmly ahead, India are staring at another defeat in this five-match series. If they lose in Manchester, the Shubman Gill-led side will not be able to make a comeback in the series.
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