Kuldeep Yadav replaces Amit Mishra in the squad for Bangladesh Test

A couple of days ahead of the one-off Test match against Bangladesh in Hyderabad Team India has been forced to call reinforcement. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra who was a part of the squad has been ruled out with a knee injury that he sustained during the 3rd T20I against England at Bangalore. Uttar Pradesh chinaman Kuldeep Yadav has been named his replacement in the team.

Virat Kohli and co are practicing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and Kuldeep has already joined the team. He was seen in the nets with Head Coach Anil Kumble, the duo bowled in tandem and Kumble also passed on valuable tips to the 21-year-old in terms of the areas he should be bowling in and the lengths. Kuldeep is yet to make his India debut but has 81 first-class wickets to his name in a 22-match young career.

India’s only chinaman bowler has been in a rich vein of form in during the ongoing domestic season. The left-arm spinner was exceptional in the second warm-up match that he played against England at the Cricket Club of India Stadium in Mumbai and picked a five-wicket haul that ensured Team India won the game quite comfortably. He also had an impressive domestic season for UP where he not only picked wickets but scored crucial runs with the bat.

The youngster has been in the reckons for over a couple of years now and though it looks unlikely that he will find a place in the starting XI given the way Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jayant Yadav have bowled and batted together extremely well, the maiden Test call-up will help Kuldeep get invaluable experience of bowling under the watchful eyes of India’s most successful spinner Kumble and also goes on to show that the management views him as a part of the setup for the longer run.

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For Mishra, it is a disappointment since he would have wanted to do well here after a rather decent T20I series against England though he was overshadowed by rookie leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who picked the player of the series award.