Not only bowling, you'll always see him batting, fielding...': Sitanshu Kotak breaks silence on Kuldeep Yadav's inclusion in India's playing XI for 5th Test

India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak opened up on veteran spinner Kuldeep Yadav's inclusion in the Shubman Gill-led side's playing XI for the fifth Test match against England. Kotak said that the decision to add the spinner will be taken by skipper Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir. After the fourth Test match, India remains alive, trailing 1-2 as both teams return to London for one last contest of the five-match series.

The fourth Test match between India and England ended in a draw, and vice-captain Rishabh Pant, who is among the highest run-getters in the series, has been ruled out of the series. And the BCCI announced Narayan Jagadeesan as his replacement. Ahead of the fifth Test match against England, Kotak praise Kuldeep Yadav for his dedication.

"Our captain and Head coach will sit down, discuss and decide. So, that hasn't been decided today. And even if it's decided, it's not my place to declare that. But it will be decided tomorrow," Kotal told the media.

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Kotak lavished praise on Kuldeep for his preparation and dedication, but reckons that it's hard to say this player will actually play.

"Looking at the preparation, you can't say that this player is going to play. Kuldeep is an outstanding individual. He works really hard on his game. And not only bowling, you'll always see him batting. You'll always see him fielding. So, it's not like he's doing something different today," he added.

Kudeep, who was included in the India squad for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 yet to feature in the series. He played 13 Test matches and picked up 56 wickets at an average of 22.16 and an economy of 3.55. He also has four five-wicket hauls under his belt. Kuldeep has played a single Test in England so far. He featured in the second Test in 2018, where he went wicketless.

Indian squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.