Former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin slammed Team India’s combination after a difficult day with the ball on Day 2 of the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford in Manchester. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley’s fifties helped the team reach 225-2 at Stumps, in response to India’s 358 in the first innings, demonstrating the visitors’ lack of ball-playing ability.
After an injury crisis following the Lord’s Test, Team India was forced to make numerous adjustments to their setup. All-rounder Shardul Thakur returned to the starting XI after being benched early in the trip, and Anshul Kamboj made his debut as a result of injuries incurred by Akash Deep, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Arshdeep Singh.
The bowling attack struggled to make an impression with the new ball as the overhead conditions relaxed significantly. As their combined 25 overs went for 141 runs with just one wicket returned, the supporting pacers were unable to exert any control.
In order to provide batting depth, R Ashwin believed that India ought to have included a specialist bowler to support Jasprit Bumrah rather than depending solely on all-rounders.
“See, you may get 20-30 extra runs from the No.8 batter, but if that player at No.8 takes 2-3 wickets, then the complexion of the Test match can change. The management decided to play Nitish Kumar Reddy at Lord’s and Birmingham, I’ll admit that was an okay decision, because he is a top-six calibre batter, and he is not Ben Stokes yet, but there is skill in his bowling,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
He went on to say that Kuldeep Yadav was the ideal choice for India since he could replace the weary Indian pacers who had been playing the majority of the tour.
“Once Nitish Kumar Reddy went out of the picture at No.6, it was a no-brainer to play Kuldeep Yadav. 15 full days of cricket has happened already, your fast bowling attack is tiring, Siraj was tiring. Even though Bumrah’s workload has been managed, it is still not an easy task. Kuldeep Yadav is a serious miss for India, and England are ahead in the Test.”
Ravichandran Ashwin
He added:
“Shubman Gill is unable to give six over, seven over spells to Bumrah, you cannot run him to the ground. I felt the spinners could have been rotated better.”
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin clarified that batting depth and bonus runs in the lower order should never take precedence over factors that contribute to picking 20 wickets. According to him, minor leads are no longer relevant because English pitches are flat in the Bazball era.
“If somebody would have told me that Kuldeep Yadav will not be playing any part in the first four Tests, I would have been very very surprised. Unfortunately, it is our obsession with batting, and looking for those 20-30 extra runs. Gone are those days in England, that advantage of 20-30 runs is gone. If your No.7 makes 30 runs, and your No.8 makes 30 runs, you have extra 60 runs. Earlier that 60 runs used to be very useful, because bowlers used to get help from the pitch.”
Ravichandran Ashwin
Kuldeep Yadav was expected to play in the second Test match at Edgbaston, particularly after it was revealed that Jasprit Bumrah was being rested. But on that particular occasion, India brought in both all-rounders, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy, in order to prioritize batting depth.
“Blowing My Head Away” – R Ashwin Questions Kuldeep Yadav’s Exclusion in England Tests
Team India was unable to stop England’s free-flowing batting despite having up to six reliable bowling options. Ravindra Jadeja made the first breakthrough after Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley had a 166-run opening partnership.
Shardul Thakur, who was selected due to his versatility, had a terrible spell with the ball despite scoring a respectable 41 in the first innings. Due to his inconsistent line and length, he was brought in early in the last session and gave up six boundaries and 35 runs in five overs.
Ashwin stated that having Kuldeep Yadav as an option would have aided India because the batting took care of itself, particularly with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar proving to be dependable in the lower middle order.
“If you are only planning to give Shardul Thakur this many overs, and expect 20-30 runs from him. I love Shardul Thakur, I like him a lot, but if this is the usage point, why can’t you consider Kuldeep Yadav? It is just blowing my head away. I know it seems against the grain because it is three spinners, but it is not that way, Jadeja is a specialist batter for you now.”
Ravichandran Ashwin
He added:
“Washington Sundar is also batting well. When your bowlers can bat so well, why are you not bringing an attacking bowler? Today, Jassi was bowling, and after that it looked like India had no other options to take a wicket.””I am not saying that Kuldeep would have picked up five wickets if he was playing, but it plays with a batter’s mind. A lot of these guys don’t pick him, and this was a great opportunity. He would have atleast picked one wicket if he was playing today.”
Ravichandran Ashwin
England trail by only 133 in the first innings, with eight wickets remaining. Building on the profitable foundation laid by the openers, the middle order duo of Joe Root and Ollie Pope remain intact at the crease.
