Gautam Gambhir can’t rely on ‘golden arm’ again: Kuldeep Yadav deserves Edgbaston nod over Shardul Thakur

In his first bowl in Test cricket, in Dharamsala in March 2017, Kuldeep Yadav broke the final, decisive Test of a four-match series wide open. Opting to bat, Australia had reached 144 for one when the left-arm wrist-spinner bounded in for his fourth over. The first ball was a flipper that bounced a little extra from an indeterminate length that David Warner poked at from his crease. The resultant outside edge lobbed to slip, where stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane pouched a sitter. India’s left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav during practice at the Headingley ground.(HT_PRINT)

Kuldeep was to reveal later that the flipper was a ‘gift’ from Shane Warne. Before the Test, then India head coach Anil Kumble facilitated a meeting between Kuldeep and the master; Kuldeep revelled in using the Aussie legend’s advice to undermine the latter’s own team. The Warner strike sparked the wickets of Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins. Kuldeep’s four for 68 was responsible for Australia being bowled out for 300 on day one, setting the stage for India’s series-clinching eight-wicket win.

The pixie Uttar Pradesh lad had played just four more Tests in the next 22 months when India squared off against Australia in Sydney in January 2019, sitting on a 2-1 lead and needing only a draw to clinch their maiden series Down Under. In a match badly affected by the weather, he took his maiden overseas five-fer – five for 99 in 31.5 overs – to force Australia to follow on. As India celebrated their tryst with history, Ravi Shastri, the bombastic head coach, thundered, “He plays overseas Test cricket and he gets five wickets, so he becomes our primary overseas spinner. Going ahead, if we have to play one spinner, he is the one we will pick.” Shastri was in charge for the next two and a half years, during which time Kuldeep played exactly one Test – against England in Chennai in February 2021. It wasn’t until Rohit Sharma replaced Virat Kohli, and Shastri was succeeded by Rahul Dravid, that he finally got two Tests in a row, nearly seven years after his debut.

That was when England came visiting early last year. In four games, the unconventional spinner snaffled 19 wickets, instrumental in a 4-1 series triumph after surrendering the first Test. He only figured in one Test subsequently, in October against New Zealand, when a sports hernia that necessitated surgery kept him out of action.

Kuldeep returned to the international fold at the Champions Trophy in Dubai where he teamed up with Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel to tie up all-comers in knots. And with R Ashwin having by then retired from Test cricket, it was a given that he would be on the flight to England for the five-Test series, supplementary to all-rounder Jadeja and ahead in the pecking order of, one would presume, the other spinning all-rounder, Washington Sundar.

India's gamble at Headingley backfired

There was a strong case for Kuldeep to have played at Headingley on a dry surface certain to take a beating from the unexpectedly harsh June sun, but in a bid to strengthen their batting – which cost them dear in Australia too – India plumped for ‘all-rounder’ Shardul Thakur. At No. 8, the Mumbaikar batted like a millionaire, caught behind the stumps playing extravagant drives for 1 and 4 respectively. He bowled a measly six (of 100.4 overs) in England’s first innings, and even though he dismissed Ben Duckett and Harry Brook off successive deliveries deep in the hosts’ chase on day five, far from justified the show of faith, especially with his lack of application with the bat.

Gautam Gambhir pooh-poohed the ‘lack of application’ narrative, but the head coach will be in a minority of one. As speculation mounts that Jasprit Bumrah might not play the Edgbaston Test, starting on Wednesday, it becomes even more pressing for India to bring Kuldeep into the XI. With Jadeja at No. 7, the insurance of the few extra runs Thakur might provide is offset by the greater penetrative abilities of Kuldeep – he has taken a wicket every 6.1 overs in his 13 Tests – as India seek to draw level after a disappointing denouement to a Test they dominated for the large part.

Thakur is reputed to possess a ‘golden arm’ and some refer to him as ‘Beefy’ – as the legendary Ian Botham is known – but a batting average of 17.68 (Kuldeep’s is 13.26) and a bowling average of 29.36 (Kuldeep: 22.16) don’t leave much to the imagination. Kuldeep might have a terrible game, admittedly, but he is clearly the more skilled bowler and has a greater chance of making an impact with the ball than Thakur. Eventually, that is what must dictate selection, not just hope and a prayer.

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