Kuldeep Yadav warmed the bench right through the England Test tour.
Team India’s obsession with batting all-rounders in the recently held Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England led to Kuldeep Yadav warming the bench.
Before the start of the marquee tour, one expected the wrist-spinner to spin a web around the English batters. However, he didn’t get a chance throughout the five-match series.
Sharing his perspective on Kuldeep’s snub from the playing XI, former India cricketer Robin Uthappa argued that selection is not just about bowling skill — it’s about team balance and depth as well.
“Put Kuldeep in the 11 and make sure your batting is still in a state where none of the fans will go after the team management or the captain. With all due respect to Kuldeep's prowess with the ball, he's got limitations to his batting. That's going to take a lot of effort from his side,” Uthappa said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
He also compared Kuldeep’s case with that of Ravichandran Ashwin, who used to score consistent runs lower down the order in Tests.
“Ashwin has got five or six Test hundreds. If Kuldeep can do that at number eight or nine, then he will certainly play more Tests,” Uthappa added.
Uthappa was effusive in praise of young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who amassed 411 runs on the tour of England.
“I think he’s an absolute cricket nut. He is obsessed with the game, batting, and scoring runs. That’s what makes him a unique prospect,” he said.
Commenting on Shubman Gill’s captaincy, Uthappa remarked, “We've seen Shubman's captaincy in this series — good at times and passive at others. Tactically, he will grow. As a leader, he is coming into his own since leading Gujarat Titans.”
India won the fifth Test against England at the Oval by a narrow margin of six runs, thereby ending the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in a 2-2 draw.
When Shubman Gill’s men landed in England, no one gave them a chance following the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin. However, the team in transition proved everyone wrong as they gave the hosts a run of their money in all five Test matches.