Kuldeep Yadav has not been a regular under Head Coach Gautam Gambhir; he has been in and out of the side, raising questions about whether the left-arm wrist spinner will get his chances in the upcoming two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif expressed concern about whether Kuldeep would get a game in the upcoming series.
“However, Kuldeep doesn’t get consistent opportunities, so there is still some doubt over whether he will play or not. We assume that he will, but he hasn’t convinced the Indian team with his bowling yet. Whether it is Shubman Gill or Gautam Gambhir, they don’t seem completely convinced by Kuldeep’s bowling. He remains in the squad, but he doesn’t always get to play. So, I’m still a little doubtful about whether they will play him or not,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Kaif also gave the opinion that Jammu and Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi might not start in the playing XI.
“No, I don’t think he (Auqib Nabi) will get a chance in the first match. Because, if you look at it, I’m considering Kuldeep Yadav, and Manav Suthar can also contribute with the bat, so he could come in at No. 8. Nabi might not get the opportunity to play the first match because Mohammed Siraj will play the Test.
Traditionally, the surfaces in Sri Lanka have been conducive to the spinners; hence, Kaif predicted that India would go in with two seamers and two spinners.
“On a slow pitch, I’m looking at two fast bowlers, along with Kuldeep, Jadeja and Manav Suthar. If we talk about the bowling combination, Siraj will be there, and the team also has Prasidh Krishna. Yes, Krishna could get a chance because he is a relatively experienced bowler. So, they could go with two fast bowlers in Siraj and Krishna, along with three spinners in Suthar, Jadeja and Kuldeep,” he added.