Kuldeep Yadav is one of the three spinners in Virat Kohli-led 15-man squad for three Tests against Sri Lanka. (Source: BCCI)
India are set to lock horns with Sri Lanka in the three-Test series which begins in Galle on Wednesday. The hosts have a lot of issues to deal with while India, with Ravi Shastri back in the dressing room, wear a very settled look ahead of the long season. In conversation with ESPN Cricinfo, Gautam Gambhir said the visitors should look to play three spinners and Kuldeep Yadav, who made his debut against Australia earlier this year, must feature in all three Tests. The opener felt Hardik Pandya should only be picked on green surfaces.
“I think you have to play Kuldeep (Yadav), then you have R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja obviously. All three are different bowlers. Sri Lanka have four or five left-handers in their playing XI so you would want Ashwin there. Jadeja he can contain, he is someone who is very accurate as well. Kuldeep because no one has seen him and he is going to be your wicket-taking option. He is going to be a mystery option, an attacking option as well. You would rather play three spinners and two best seamers. Shami and Umesh at the moment. These would be my five bowlers. You got the luxury that Ashwin and Jadeja bat as well. You bat reasonably deep and then you got five different bowlers, and you have got the ability to take 20 wickets,” said Gambhir.
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Gambhir, who last played a Test for India in the home series against England last year, insisted that India should bank on their spinners and field only two specialist seamers for all three Tests.
“Unless it’s a wicket which is absolutely green. I would still pick Kuldeep, I would pick him for all three Test matches. He is someone who is going to give you wickets all the time. If the wicket is green and has something for fast bowlers then I might look to play Hardik in place of Jadeja. I know it’s going to be a hard call, tough call because Jadeja has done unbelievably well for you but then it is only because of the conditions. Seeing conditions in Sri Lanka and having played there, I would play three spinners,” added Gambhir.
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Sri Lanka cricket is not in a happy place at the moment. After losing the ODI series against Zimbabwe, they did restore some pride with a record outing in the one-off Test but beating India, Gambhir felt, will take some doing for the Rangana Herath-led unit.
“If I compare both teams on paper then India is far more dominant, that’s why they are no.1 in the world and Sri Lanka is no.7. Had Sri Lanka played good cricket, they wouldn’t have been no.7. The only option they have is if they play on a wicket like they played in SSC against India last time, the third Test match. It had lots for the fast bowlers. Sri Lanka attack is about the bowlers who can bowl 130-135 so they need conditions. They are not someone who are express and can exploit a lot of reverse swing. India have got that with Umesh and Shami. The only option Sri Lanka has is to play on wickets where their bowlers can pick 20 wickets. If they play on wickets which are batter friendly, India is going to run them over because they have the attack to take 20 wickets on any surface,” said Gambhir.
