Will India change the XI that won the Galle Test against Sri Lanka? The biggest question is whether Kuldeep Yadav, who took one wicket and was not used extensively, will find a place in the XI for the second Test starting on Sunday. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels the team management’s decision to potentially replace left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav with an off-spinner for the second Test against Sri Lanka, starting at the SSC Ground on Sunday, would be an “understandable” move, given the hosts’ heavy reliance on left-handed batters.
Analysis of Sri Lanka’s scoring in the first Test at Galle, where they lost to India by 165 runs, shows their four main left-handers made 300 of the 465 runs scored across both innings, which is roughly 64.5 per cent of the team’s overall runs.
In contrast, India fielded three left-arm spinners in their XI, with Kuldeep returning modest match figures of 1-103 from 25 overs. With off-spin bowling all-rounder Saransh Jain in the squad, it means the Indian team can hand him a debut if the pitch in Colombo is too dry.
“If India play an off-spinner in place of Kuldeep Yadav, it’s understandable because that will just make the spin combination a little better. In the last Test, three spinners bowling with the left arm proved to be a little bit of a problem when two left-handers got together, and we saw left-handers get runs against India in the first Test,” Manjrekar said in a video posted on his Instagram account on Saturday.
“So if there’s an off-spinner that comes in and a left-arm spinner is left out, it will just make the Indian spin attack a little more potent because there will be variety, and an off-spinner in Test matches with DRS and everything is almost something that you need in a team,” he added.
Acknowledging the possibility of Kuldeep sitting out despite his pedigree, Manjrekar urged him to adjust his trajectory and speed if he’s retained in the playing XI.
“Kuldeep Yadav could be the person who gets dropped, and you feel sorry because that’s been the story of his career. Maybe the management might think, ‘Let’s play Kuldeep Yadav, give him a little more confidence.’ But Kuldeep also needs to look at what he did in the last Test and the way he bowled.
“Perhaps, over the years, there’s been so much scrutiny on his speed in the air and his flight; the ball doesn’t come quickly off the pitch. So he’s almost completely committed himself to bowling quicker and flatter. The ball still wasn’t coming quickly off the pitch. So that’s a lesson learned,” he added.
India’s Predicted XI: 1. KL Rahul, 2. Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3. Devdutt Padikkal, 4. Shubman Gill (captain), 5. Rishabh Pant (wk), 6. Dhruv Jurel, 7. Ravindra Jadeja, 8. Manav Suthar, 9. Saransh Jain, 10. Mohammed Siraj, 11. Prasidh Krishna.