IND vs ENG: Kuldeep Yadav drops major hints about Rajkot pitch, Ravindra Jadeja's availability

Kuldeep Yadav has revealed that the Rajkot pitch for the third India vs England Test, starting on 15 February, will not be a rank turner, instead it would be similar to the pitches at Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. None of the pitches in the two matches so far, at Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, were rank turners, though they were not flat pitches conducive only to batting either. So far a pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, has emerged as the highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets from two matches in the five-game series which is currently levelled 1-1. “It is not going to be a rank turner, but will be a good wicket,” Kuldeep said about Rajkot pitch in a press conference on Tuesday. “When we say it is going to be a batting (friendly) wicket we do not mean that 700-800 runs will be scored here, but it will be a better wicket compared to playing on a rank turner. I hope it helps the spinners who play.” The left-arm wrist spinner also confirmed that Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the second Test at Visakhapatnam due to hamstring injury, will be available for the third match. “I think so. He (Jadeja) is doing his routine (work). He did one session yesterday and I think he is available. I am not (even) sure of my position because there are two days left for the game. If I get the opportunity, I will be more than happy. I do not think too much about if I am playing or not — I just enjoy my day and keep working hard and that is my process,” said the spinner. Kuldeep most likely will sit out if Jadeja returns, but the Kanpur spinner, who took four wickets in India’s win at Visakhapatnam, shared that he is enjoying playing against aggressive Bazball cricket. “Usually, in Test cricket, you are not used to having someone with such an attacking batting approach. But at the same time you are more involved in the game. As a spinner you are more focused on the game, how you are going to bowl and what your approach will be," he said. “Sometimes in Test cricket, you are not overly worried if the batter would attack much and you focus on how to dismiss them. But here the approach is different, they are in attacking mode so you have to plan on how to restrict them because (if they are) playing more shots then more opportunities are being created to take a wicket. It is interesting, the last game was my first (of the series) and I enjoyed it a lot and it is good for cricket too.” Coming back to the lack of rank turners in the Test series. Kuldeep was asked why India are not opting for rank turners in the series and while the 29-year-old claimed to be unaware of the reasons, he added that good wickets also make for good cricket. “I have no idea. I haven’t played on rank turners. I did not play in the last series (the Border Gavaskar series in February-March last year) at home. So, I do not know what our approach or thinking would be. It is basically the team management’s decision. Obviously, all of you also want to watch good cricket. For good cricket, it’s important (that the wickets are good),” Kuldeep said. He was also asked if rank turners should be used by India in home series. To which he replied: “I do not know that, I enjoy playing whenever I should get an opportunity to play, whether it is on a flat track or on a rank turner. I feel that keeping our batting in mind, batting too is important for us, and not just spin bowling. But if you see overall everything is important. See, overall, everything is important. The fast bowlers also come into play, like you saw in the last match. So (good wickets) are good for cricket. It is not (the case) that you will not get to see rank turners going forward. Hopefully in the future you will see (turning tracks),” he said.