Sourav Ganguly has raised questions over India’s team selection for the ongoing second Test against England at Edgbaston. The former India captain said was doubtful about India’s bowling attack like many other experts, who wanted the visiting side to play Kuldeep Yadav.
India’s choice to leave out Kuldeep once again raised eyebrows. The left-arm wrist-spinner found himself on the bench. With the surface in Birmingham expected to offer more grip and turn for spinners, the exclusion of Kuldeep, especially in favour of extra batting depth, was criticised heavily.
After a five-wicket defeat in Leeds, where India’s bowlers struggled to apply pressure consistently, it was widely expected that Kuldeep Yadav would be added to the mix with Jasprit Bumrah also resting. However, the team opted to strengthen their batting instead by including Washington Sundar, leaving Kuldeep out once again. The move has not only baffled fans but also cricketing greats like Ganguly.
Sourav Ganguly Questions India’s Selection Choices in 2nd Test vs England
Speaking to the broadcasters, Ganguly said he was puzzled by India’s selection but backed the team to make the most of their batting and put runs on the board.
"I am not sure whether India are playing their two best spinners. England have fielded first, I am surprised with that. I think this is India's best possible chance at the moment. Put runs on the board and hopefully it works out," Ganguly said as quoted on Sony Sports Network.
Sunil Gavaskar had also shared his thoughts on India’s playing XI for the second Test at Edgbaston and said he could not understand why Kuldeep was left out. Gavaskar opined that the pitch was expected to help spinners, and in such conditions, leaving out a proven wicket-taker did not make sense.
"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 during the broadcast.
He also took aim at India’s strategy to add more depth to the batting line-up. Gavaskar said there was no real need to strengthen the batting because it was not the issue in the first Test. India had scored over 800 runs, and the defeat at Headingley came down to their inability to take 20 wickets, not a lack of batting.
"If your top-order batters are not 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. 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 asserted.
India Dominate Day 1 at Edgbaston
Despite the selection debate, India put themselves in a decent position at the end of the opening day. After being put in to bat, the team responded well with Shubman Gill leading the way with a century. Yashasvi Jaiswal also scored 87 runs.
India ended the day on a solid note with the scoreboard reading 310/5. With wickets in hand and runs on the board, the visitors will hope their bowling unit, even without Kuldeep and Bumrah, can step up when it is their turn in the field.
