IND vs ENG: Sunil Gavaskar Wants Kuldeep Yadav to Play Ahead of Shardul Thakur in Second Test at Birmingham

The first Test of the India vs England series did not go to plan for the visitors as the hosts sealed a comfortable five-wicket victory at Headingley, Leeds. And it has increased the scrutiny on the Indian cricket team's selection calls, particularly the one that saw them play Shardul Thakur to elongate their batting line-up. 

And it is one that former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has now weighed in on, claiming that the team needs to find a way to play Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham. 

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Will India Get Spinning Conditions in Next Test? 

Gavaskar believes that the conditions in Birmingham might give some aid to the wrist spinner and that is why he would include Kuldeep in place of Shardul.

"Whether Jasprit Bumrah is fit or not, I think Kuldeep Yadav has to come into the team. I do believe that he should come into the team for Shardul Thakur because the Birmingham pitch will be one where there will be just a little bit of help for the wrist spinner," Gavaskar said after the first Test.

It would go against the ethos of adding depth to India's batting that current head coach Gautam Gambhir has focused on but could help the team take more wickets. 

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Why Adding Kuldeep Could Work

The pitch for the first Test was on the flatter side and did not provide much assistance to the bowlers aside from the occasional spell here and there that was more conditions specific. 

However, a wrist spinner is not reliant on the pitch to get the ball to spin - and Kuldeep's variations both in terms of turn and flight make him a tricky customer to deal with. 

Removing Thakur would come with the risk of shortening India's batting but the longer lower order did not aid the team much in the first Test. 

And Kuldeep is a guaranteed wicket-taker in the vein of Jasprit Bumrah, which could add some firepower to India's bowling ranks.