Australia vs India 2018-19: Will Pick Kuldeep Yadav Over R Ashwin, Says Sunil Gavaskar

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar feels that India should go in with two spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin for the first Test against Australia. He also said that if the team decides to play one spinner, Kuldeep should get the nod ahead of Ashwin.

With the pitches in Australia unlikely to be spinner-friendly, India is more than likely to go in with just one spinner. Team India might opt for Ravichandran Ashwin for his experience and performances. However, given Ashwin’s overseas struggles, the team-management might spring a surprise by naming Kuldeep in the team. There is also a chance for Ravindra Jadeja but it is highly unlikely that he will be preferred when the team decides to go in with just one spinner.

Ashwin’s contrasting form at home and away will be a major concern for India.  While Ashwin has captured 234 wickets from 38 Tests in India, he only has 102 wickets in 26 Tests away. Take the 38 wickets in 6 Tests in Sri Lanka and 5 wickets in 1 Test in Bangladesh, and he would be left with only 59 Test wickets in 19 Tests outside Asia. The stat is not at all promising for someone who is supposedly the best off-spinner in the world a present.

And it seems Gavaskar is also apprehensive whether Ashwin would be able to perform Down Under. Consequently, he said that Kuldeep should get the nod ahead of his senior partner.

“I will go with Kuldeep Yadav and Ashwin in the playing XI for the opening Test with three fast bowlers. If I have to pick just one spinner, then it has to be Kuldeep because the Australians were not able to read him in the T20I series that India just played. He brings that novelty factor as the Aussies haven’t played him much,” Sunil Gavaskar told India Today.

Sunil Gavaskar further said that he would prefer newcomer Hanuma Vihari over Rohit Sharma in the playing XI for the opening Test.

“Rohit was dropped for the one-off Afghanistan Test and since then he hasn’t played red-ball cricket. So it is difficult for him to get back into the playing XI. If there has to be someone, it has to be Hanuma Vihari, because he scored a fifty in his last Test match. So what wrong has he done to not deserve a place in the XI?,” he said.

The team is likely to pick one between Rohit and Vihari. Vihari, who scored an impressive fifty on his debut in England, scored another fifty in the warm-up game to stake his claim. On the other hand, Rohit, who is making a comeback in Tests through this series, has been in red-hot form in white-ball cricket.