Sunil Gavaskar bats for Kuldeep-Chahal duo’s inclusion in Test squad
As the spinning duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal ripped apart the South African batting line up in the ODI series, Sunil Gavaskar has asked for the duo's inclusion in the Test team for future tours. Gavaskar also added that he doesn't see any reason for them to be unsuccessful in Tests.
India is leading South Africa 4-1 in the series with still a match to be played. All the four victories have been a one-sided affairs for the Indian team as they did not give any chance for the hosts to get back in any of the games. The credit of these wins should be given to the spinning duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who have notched up 16 and 14 wickets respectively. Seeing the performance of the wrist spinners on the bouncy tracks of South Africa, Sunil Gavaskar has asked for the inclusion of the duo in the Test squad for the tours of England and Australia.
“The most exciting part of the win has been the bowling of the two wrist spinners. They have outfoxed the Proteas batsmen, who even after five games, aren’t sure which way the ball will turn. Kuldeep Yadav has already played Tests and showed how effective he can be in the longer format. Jasprit Bumrah has made the change from white ball to red ball impressively and there is no reason why Yuzvendra Chahal also won’t make that transition and win Test matches for India with his wrist spin,” Gavaskar wrote for his TOI column, batting for the inclusion of Kuldeep and Chahal in the Test team just like Bumrah.
After enjoying a flattering home season of Test cricket in which India managed to win 9 Test series on the trot, everyone thought that India would surely win the next three biggest tours of their away season. But India lost the first away series 2-1 to South Africa in an unexpected way. Ravichandran Ashwin, who is dubbed as India’s best spinner managed to pick up just 7 wickets in the two Test matches he played and Ravindra Jadeja did not play in any of the Test matches. Ashwin’s struggles with the ball and the batting line up failing to deliver were the main cause for India’s Test series defeat at the hands of the Proteas. Not opting for practice matches was also a reason for the Test series debacle for India.
“When the Indian team left for South Africa, there was every hope that this would be the first Indian team to win all three series and return home victorious. That didn’t quite happen, as despite being in the game for three innings of the first two Tests, their batting faltered in the fourth innings and lost both those Tests, and with it, the chance to win the series,” said the former Indian batsman.
India’s spirited performance with the ball in the Third test helped them enjoy a consolation win in the Test series. This was followed by a stunning performance by Kuldeep and Chahal who did not allow any South African batsman to settle in their innings and helped India in securing the series.
“Their spirited performance on a difficult pitch in the third Test showed that the Indians had got used to the pace and bounce of the South African pitches and their bowlers, in particular, bowled spectacularly to bowl them to a terrific win. What this does show is the importance of having some practice games before the Tests start,” said the former Indian captain.
“With that win in the third Test as the morale-booster, the Indians have simply pulverized the South African side in the One-dayers. Their top batsmen have batted for more than 30 overs in every game and the top three have all got a hundred.”
As the spinning duo has been comfortable in bowling on bouncy and pacy tracks, Sunil Gavaskar has asked for the inclusion of both Chahal and Kuldeep in the Test squad for the England and Australia tour later this year. With Chahal having a bowling average of 33.33 in First Class matches and Kuldeep averaging 31.87, Sunil Gavaskar finds no reason for them to be unsuccessful in Test cricket.
“The tour to England starts with the One-day series, so the Indians will have almost a month before the Tests start. Let’s face it, even today, despite the onslaught of T20 and ODIs, it’s the Test results that really matter, so the month in England should be pretty handy as far as getting used to the conditions is concerned. For Australia though the planning has to be done now and a couple of proper First Class matches must be organized before the first Test which will give the team some sort of a start, else like here in South Africa, it will be a case of missed opportunities,” said Gavaskar.
