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India's left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav will fly back home without playing a game in the three-ODI series against England. In the absence of an injured Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep did not get a place in the playing eleven for the third ODI at Lord's, London, where spin played a crucial role. While many former cricketers criticised the team management for the move, Shubman Gill revealed that conditions dictated the decision. He wanted to attack with fast bowlers instead of going on defensive when spinners were operating.
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“So the matches that we played prior to this, we had seen the wickets were not offering that much to the spinners. Whenever spinners came into bowl, we felt that we kind of had to go into defensive, whenever the fast bowlers were bowling, it felt like something was happening. And that was the thought process behind not bringing in extra spinner,” Gill said in the post-match press conference.
But, the team management’s decision to back pacers at Lord’s did not work in India’s favour. None of the pacers were economical. Gurnoor Brar conceded as many as 97 runs, the most by an Indian pacer in overseas conditions. Arshdeep Singh couldn't take a wicket and went for 72 runs, Prasidh Krishna conceded 69 runs. Prince Yadav conceded 79 runs from 10 overs, including 11 via wides. Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Axar Patel was relatively economical as he went for 61 runs in 10 overs.
However, Gill admitted that in hindsight, spin would have been a batter option. He revealed that the pitch got slower in the second innings.
“With the fast bowlers, you obviously want to create pressure and see chances get created. Maybe in hindsight, looking at the wicket, I think it got a little bit slow. When we were bowling and when Axar bhai was bowling for us, it didn’t look like the wicket would get that slow, but when they came into bowl, it did look like the wicket got a bit slower as the game went on,” Gill said.
When did Kuldeep play his previous ODI?
Kuldeep played the second ODI of the three-ODI series against Afghanistan last month. In Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium, he bowled his quota of 10 overs and conceded 42 runs and remained wicketless.
Kuldeep’s ODI record in England
The 31-year-old has played 10 ODIs in England, taking 15 wickets at an average of 32.44. His economy rate on English soil in the format is five runs per over.
The last time he played an ODI in England was in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2019. At Headingley, Leeds, he picked up one wicket and conceded 58 runs against Sri Lanka. In his only ODI appearance at Lord's, he took three wickets for 68 runs. But, his three-fer ended up in a losing cause.
When will Kuldeep play his next ODI?
India's next ODI series is at home against West Indies, starting September 27. It will be interesting to see whether Gill backs Kuldeep to be a part of the playing eleven in home conditions or continues to get overs of spin from all-rounders.
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