Former Indian top-order batter and presenter Cheteshwar Pujara has shared his views on the Indian attacking wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who was dropped from the playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Notably, Kuldeep could scalp only one wicket in his 25 overs in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. On that note, he was axed from the second and final Test of the two-match series, and Saransh Jain replaced him.
At the toss, the Indian captain Shubman Gill stated that Kuldeep Yadav is not a part of the playing XI due to illness, while the BCCI also released an official statement confirming the same.
“Kuldeep, unfortunately, had some infections, so he misses out, and Saransh makes his debut for India,” Gill said at the toss.
“UPDATE: Mr Kuldeep Yadav has not fully recovered from his viral illness. He was unavailable for selection in the Playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka. However, he can take the field as a concussion substitute, if required,” the statement read.
While addressing Kuldeep’s exclusion from the XI, Pujara made a cheeky comment while speaking on Sony Sports Network.
“Want to know what kind of infection he has,” he said on the Sony Sports Network.
On the other hand, India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who attended the pre-match press conference, stated that the team management rates the spinner highly. However, he wasn’t sure about the spinner securing his place in the XI.
“The conversation that I’ve had with Kuldeep is just try and bowl a good spell rather than looking desperate to take wickets because sometimes as a wristspinner when you’re looking and you’re desperate to take wickets, I think your control can go away as well. For a very long period of time we rate Kuldeep very highly and we know how successful and how threatening can he be in every condition given to him. But again, we’re going to try and pick the best attack of what can deliver in these conditions,” Gautam Gambhir had said ahead of the match.
