Sourav Ganguly slams Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill for Kuldeep Yadav's non-selection at The Oval

A short turnaround between Old Trafford and The Oval, and India lost yet another toss in the series, making it a 100 percent losing streak for captain Shubman Gill on this tour of England. While the home side had announced their playing XI on Tuesday (July 29), India's team combination was a suspense till the toss. However, once Shubman Gill revealed the team changes, there was disappointment once more for one player - Kuldeep Yadav.

 

Right through the series, there was hope that the left-arm wrist spinner would play at some stage, with the fifth Test looking like the most realistic, given the workload management issues in the Indian camp and the need to add an attacking option to the bowling unit. However, it turned out to be another anti-climax as Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep were the bowlers included into the XI alongside Karun Nair and Dhruv Jurel as the batters. 

 

Since the 2021 Sydney Test, Kuldeep has featured only in one overseas match in the longest format and this has been puzzling, given his wicket-taking prowess as a wrist spinner. Naturally, Kuldeep's absence raised eyebrows from the pundits and fans alike, and one of the unhappy bunch was Sourav Ganguly.

 

The former India captain felt that Kuldeep should have played not just at The Oval but also in most of the previous matches in the series. While Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja offer steady spin options, neither of them are attacking tweakers in this regard.

 

 

"I wish Kuldeep had played in Manchester, had played at Lord's and even in Birmingham because without quality spin you would find it hard to get teams out on day four and five of a Test," Ganguly said via PTI.

 

The Manchester Test that ended in a draw saw a run fest with batters from both sides making merry. There was some variable bounce on offer and subtle seam movement but the slow nature and soft Dukes ball meant that wicket-taking was difficult as the game went on. Ganguly feels that a genuine wicket-taker like Kuldeep could have made a difference and feels that it is the absence of a world class tweaker that cost England a series-sealing win.

 

 

"You saw what happened to England when India batted on a pitch which had a bit of rough and on a pitch which had a bit of turn. There wasn't a quality spinner, so England could not get 20 wickets.

 

"In the past, great sides had great spinners, whether it's Shane Warne, Murali, England's Swann, Panesar, India's Kumble, Harbhajan, Ashwin. So, I think Kuldeep is someone India will have to continue to look into playing in the future."

 

The Oval surface saw plenty of grass on it and moisture content on it. This along with the overcast conditions and rain predictions are what possibly made the management sideline Kuldeep once more. Despite his disappointment, Ganguly echoed this logic and also felt that the management needed to be patient with the support pacers in the squad.

 

 

"Don't judge Anshul Kamboj on one Test. He has picked wickets in domestic cricket. Give him six-seven Tests before judging him.

 

"But having said that, I'm surprised not to see Mukesh Kumar in the national squad, especially with the red ball.

 

"His numbers in domestic cricket have been phenomenal, and these conditions would have been ideal for him. Hopefully, he will get his chance in future -- he's a young pacer."

 

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