India’s five-match Test tour of England began with a five-wicket defeat in the opening Test at Headingley, Leeds. While the hitters performed admirably, the bowling staff fell short of expectations, with the exception of Jasprit Bumrah.
Many analysts and fans have pushed the Indian team to select Kuldeep Yadav in their lineup for the second Test, which begins on Wednesday, July 2 in Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Michael Clarke is the latest to make the remark, believing that Kuldeep Yadav wicket-taking abilities will benefit India.
“In terms of bowling, I don’t want to pick on anyone, but I believe they should play Kuldeep Yadav. I believe that is an absolute no-brainer. “He’s a wicket-taker and would have contributed far more than the attack did in this Test,” stated the 2015 World Cup-winning skipper on the Beyond23 podcast.
Clarke observed that India has a habit of stacking their lineup with batting alternatives. However, the former Australian cricketer believes that the Shubman Gill-led side should aim on taking 20 wickets in Test matches in England.
“India has been doing this for a while. They are so concerned with extra batting or stacking the batting deep that they are willing to risk selecting their number one spinner to do so. “I believe that to win in England, you must take 20 wickets,” he added.
Execution probably needs to be improved. Michael Clarke
Clarke praised Bumrah’s performance in the first Test, but noted that the other pacers were inconsistent and will need to improve their execution in future games.
“Bumrah is a star; he’s leading the charge. However, the other three pacers, while they bowled well at times, need to find new ways to take wickets. Clarke observed that their execution may benefit from improvement.
The cricketer-turned-commentator also expressed his disappointment over Ravindra Jadeja’s insipid performance, especially in the second innings, where the Saurashtra all-rounder couldn’t exploit the rough outside the left-hander’s off-stump.
“Jadeja didn’t have the impact I thought he might. Particularly in the second innings, I expected him to exploit the rough outside the left-hander’s off-stump. I thought he bowled a little too straight,” Clarke said.
