Former India opener Aakash Chopra has opined that the team management should’ve picked Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI given that the pitch for the ongoing second Test against the West Indies in Trinidad is so lifeless and non-conducive to fast bowling.
India batted first and posted 438 runs in their first innings after West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to field. Virat Kohli scored an amazing century and Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, and R Ashwin scored fifties.
In response, West Indies have scored 229/5 by the end of play on day three with Brathwaite top-scoring with 75 runs. India debutant Mukesh Kumar picked one wicket, while Jadeja took two.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said this was not the pitch to play three fast bowlers.
“Mukesh Kumar got his first wicket, which was very good because the first wicket is important. You got disciplined bowling from Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj - everyone. One thing was there that this was not the pitch where you should have probably played three fast bowlers,” said Chopra.
“India should have played Akshar Patel here and if you had a bowler named Kuldeep Yadav in your squad, you could have played him on such pitches. When the pitch is more dead, a wrist-spinner can do a better job than a finger-spinner,” Chopra added.
Indian bowlers, especially Jadeja and Siraj, deserve credit for their disciplined bowling. They managed to keep the run rate in check and took crucial wickets, keeping India in a dominant position. As the day ended, the West Indies were still trailing by 209 runs.
