The Indian legendary Spinner Anil Kumble has said that Kuldeep’s variations in spells could help India during the second Test against England.
Anil Kumble backs Kuldeep’s variations
After suffering a defeat in the first test, the men in Blues are preparing for the second test of England’s India tour which is set to be played in Vizag.
On this occasion, Legendary India spinner and former captain Anil Kumble has said that Kuldeep Yadav could help with his variations if India is planning to play four spinners against England.
India suffered a 28-run defeat after a brilliant performance from England vice-captain Olli Pope who scored 196 runs in the match and Debutant Tom Hartley was impressive with his bowling.
While speaking in the media, Anil Kumble feels the need to play a fourth spinner then Kuldeep could certainly help with his variations. Kuldeep has played a Test match for India back in 2022 against Bangladesh at Chattogram.
He has picked for 34 wickets in eight Test matches with an average of 21.55. “I am not really sure whether you need a fourth spinner. But if India feels that they need only one fast bowler then having Kuldeep will certainly help.”
“He will have variations but England will come and do the same things they did in Hyderabad. The wicket could be a turning one and we are expecting the pace to be quicker than this,” said Anil Kumble.
During the first test, England played with one pacer, while they had four spin options in Hyderabad. Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed and Joe Root.
The England spinners outmatched India’s counterpart in Hyderabad picking 17 wickets while Indian spinners amassed 14 wickets.
Anil Kumble feels that the Indian batter against England’s spinners was not positive calling for an improved performance in Vizag.
“This was slow but it was a good wicket if you applied yourself. India certainly needs to buckle up with their approach to playing against spin because I felt the approach of a couple of batters wasn’t positive and even the footwork wasn’t what you expected,” Kumble added.
India has an impressive Test Record in the last 10 years, having defeated England twice 4-0 and 3-1 in 2016/17 and 2020/21.
The BCCI has announced the squad for the Second Test where Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul are ruled out due to injury.
India and England will be playing their second Test starting on February 02 at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
