England vs India: Former English cricketer wants Kuldeep Yadav to play the first Test

The Indian national team is currently in the United Kingdom (UK) where they recently played a couple of T20I series against Ireland and England respectively. Thereafter they played an ODI series against the Brits. While the Men in Blue won both the T20I series, they were thumped in the 50-overs format. Kuldeep Yadav was one of their star performers and is currently one of India’s most reliable spinners.

He became the first left-arm spinner to notch a five-wicket haul in T20Is when he accomplished the same in Manchester. Thereafter, he wreaked havoc in the English batting lineup with a six-wicket haul and also made own a number of records. India are next scheduled to play the Brits in a five-match Test series and former English cricketer Phil Tufnell reckons that the spinner should play the first match.

I would definitely play him

”You don’t come across too many left-arm wrist spinners. There are a few leg spinners around across all formats. Kuldeep is a rare bowler. When you come across his type of bowling, you need to really work it out because it is something you haven’t seen before. It is a special thing, and a rarity really,” Tufnell was quoted as saying by the media.

“I would definitely play him. It’s a good thing India haven’t sent Kuldeep home. Just look at the weather we have had. I think it is set to be similarly fair for the next month or so. So you never know India might even play three spinners depending on pitches and their combinations.

India have three world class spinners in their Test squad, but I would definitely think of Kuldeep. I would want him hanging close around the English batsmen,” he added.

The Test series is scheduled to get underway from August 1 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Kuldeep made his debut in Whites back in March 2017 when Australia toured India for a Test series. He last played Test cricket against Sri Lanka in Palekelle back in August 2017. The chinaman bowler has picked up nine wickets in two matches and will be keen to perform well, provided he gets an opportunity.

[interaction id=”5b50667b77f0ec756f57bbc4″]

For more news and developments, stay tuned on CricTracker.com.