Sunil Gavaskar ‘Baffled’ by Kuldeep Yadav’s Omission from India’s XI at Edgbaston

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Cric News India

July 2, 2025 0 442

Sunil Gavaskar criticised the Indian team management for not picking Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test, saying India needed a wicket-taking bowler.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the team management’s decision to bench Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test against England at Edgbaston. With India trailing 0-1 in the five-match series, Gavaskar expressed surprise over the exclusion of a proven wicket-taker, especially on a pitch expected to assist spin. India also rested Jasprit Bumrah, further weakening their bowling attack.

Gavaskar pointed out that the team’s main issue in the first Test at Headingley was not lack of runs but the inability to take wickets. India scored over 830 runs across both innings, yet allowed England to chase down 371 with ease. He felt that including an additional spinner like Kuldeep would have been a smarter move than adding batting depth through Washington Sundar or Nitish Kumar Reddy.

“I’m a little baffled that Kuldeep wasn’t picked, because on a pitch like this, where everybody says there’s a little more turn,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.

“If your top-order batters aren’t giving you the runs you expect, then Washington at 7 or Nitish Reddy at 8 won’t necessarily fix that, because those weren’t the batters who failed you in the first Test,” he continued.

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“You scored 830 runs. You didn’t score 380 in two innings; it was 830-plus. That’s a lot of runs. So, where you needed strengthening was in the wicket-taking department, not so much in the batting,” Gavaskar concluded.

Table of Contents

India’s Playing XI:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.