India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir came in for some harsh criticism after the skipper unveiled that the hosts had made three changes in their playing XI for the second Test against New Zealand. This match is being played at the MCA Stadium in Pune from October 24, 2024.
Tom Latham, New Zealand captain, won the toss and chose to bat first. Rohit Sharma then revealed that Kuldeep Yadav, KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj had been dropped and in their places Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill and Akash Deep had been selected.
Team India needs to win this game because they are trailing 1-0 in the three-Test series. The Rohit Sharma-led squad must win this game to maintain their 12-year home dominance and secure their prospects of completing a hat-trick of ICC World Test Championship (WTC) finals, while a stronger Australian challenge awaits them.
Despite his impressive numbers in whites, Kuldeep has frequently been forced to sit out Tests in favour of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel, all of whom have excellent batting talents.
In 13 Tests, Kuldeep has taken 56 wickets at an average of 22.16, with best figures of 5/40. He has got four five-wicket hauls in Tests. Kuldeep played the Bengaluru Test against the Kiwis, taking three wickets for 99 runs in the first innings.
Kuldeep had shined with the ball against England earlier this year, taking 19 wickets in 4 Tests he played. He even chipped in with some useful runs with the bat, stitching some match-changing partnerships making use of a rock-solid defence.
Taking to X, Manjrekar wrote supporting Akash Deep and Sundar's inclusion: "Common sense selection. In-form seamer in. When pitch is offering a lot, you don't need an artiste like Kuldeep, a tall, quick, finger spinner will do. #INDvNZ."
In three Tests so far, Akash Deep has taken eight wickets at an average of 23.12, with best figures of 3/83.
Legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar, on the other hand, expressed unhappiness with Kuldeep's removal from the side and suggested that the hosts' decision to add spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar to the playing eleven was a show of "panic".
"I do not see a lot of teams making three changes unless there are injury concerns. Washington Sundar inclusion which tells you they are worried about their batting. More than his bowling, they need his batting down the order as the cushion. Yes, there is a lot of talk about the left-handers in the New Zealand batting unit, but I would have picked Kuldeep Yadav, who can also turn it away from a left-hander," Gavaskar said on air.
Devon Conway made 78 as New Zealand made a good start on day one, despite R Ashwin taking all three wickets to fall thus far at the time of writing this article.
