Kuldeep Yadav picked only one wicket in Galle Test bowling 25 overs across two innings.
The second Test match between India and Sri Lanka will be played from August 23 at the SSC Colombo, and there has been a question mark on Kuldeep Yadav’s spot in the India XI. Kuldeep Yadav had picked only one wicket in the Galle Test, giving away 103 runs and bowling 25 overs across two innings.
His performance was compared with Manav Suthar, who picked a 10-fer, and Ravindra Jadeja, who took 4 wickets in the match.
However, Bahutule stated that Kuldeep's role in Galle was different because of the conditions and the nature of the Kookaburra ball. He clarified that whereas finger spinners can more readily modify their pace and grip, wrist spinners encounter greater difficulties after the Kookaburra ball softens.
"He's been bowling extremely well. It's just the situation that arose in Galle; he had to play a different role. For me, he has always been a match-winner, and he definitely is in the scheme of things.
All the spinners are struggling with the soft ball. But for finger spinners (left-arm or off-spinners), it becomes easier. For a leg-spinner, it is that much harder because of the softness of the ball; the seam just goes down. With finger spinners, you can manipulate the fingers and bowl at the speeds you want to bowl. It is a tough proposition for a (wrist) spinner,” Bahutule told reporters in Colombo.
"So, I don't think one game decides on the way he is performing and the way he is approaching. So, that's all he had to adapt to, and he tried his best to adapt to that role,” he added.
According to Bahutule, as the pitch slowed down during the Test, Kuldeep had to constantly alter his pace and trajectory.
"We had to see how the trajectory or the speeds work in every session. As the days went by and as there was a demand for different types of speeds and different types of trajectories, he definitely was making an effort to bowl them. I think he was playing his role. So, he was operating as a wrist spinner in a way where obviously the wicket got slower and slower each day. But I'm sure he was bowling the way he normally bowls," he said.
(TOI inputs)