"He'll have variations" - Anil Kumble bats for Kuldeep Yadav's inclusion for 2nd Test against England

Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble spoke about the possibility of Kuldeep Yadav playing the second Test against England. He said that having the wrist-spinner will surely help the hosts but visitors could attack him too.

India suffered a disappointing loss in the first Test against England by 28 runs. One of the major factors behind the loss was the inability of the spinners to take wickets in the second innings. The likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel couldn’t remove Ollie Pope as the batter went on to slam a big ton.

Ollie Pope with his 196 runs took the game away from India and set a massive target of 231 runs for them to chase, which they failed to chase. The spinners despite help from the surface failed to take the wickets quickly and it saw them getting criticised a lot.

There have been many calls related to the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav in the team for the second Test. The spinner has been brilliant with the ball for India in the format. Despite performing well, he hasn’t got the consistent chances. His presence will no doubt bring variety in the team as his left-arm wrist spin can pose a threat to the batters.

Anil Kumble feels that wicket for the second Test between India and England could offer more pace and turn, on which Kuldeep Yadav can be handy. He believes that hosts need to buckle up their approach and urged batters to be positive. Speaking to Jio Cinema, he explained:

“I am not really sure whether you need a fourth spinner. But if India feels that they need only one fast bowler then having Kuldeep will certainly help. He will have variations but England will come and do the same things they did in Hyderabad. The wicket could be a turning one and we are expecting the pace to be quicker than this.

“This was slow but it was a good wicket if you applied yourself. India certainly needs to buckle up with their approach to playing against spin because I felt the approach of a couple of batters wasn’t positive and even the footwork wasn’t what you expected.”

Kuldeep Yadav likely to replace Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian XI for the second Test

India have suffered a major blow ahead of the second Test against England. Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the second game. He clutched his hamstring after he got run out in the second innings of the first game in Hyderabad.

Although BCCI has named Washington Sundar and Saurabh Kumar as the replacements but it is likely that Kuldeep Yadav will be drafted into the team for the second match, due to be played from 2nd February in Vizag.

Kuldeep Yadav has picked 34 wickets in just 8 games he has played. He can be the game-changer for India in the series. England batters have struggled to counter him whenever he has played against them. Also, him being handy with the bat down the order, could be a perfect replacement for Jadeja in the XI.