Wrist-Work Fails Kuldeep Yadav, But Finger Chips Works For Manav Sutar!

Kuldeep Yadav as a ‘Chinaman’ tweaker will be utterly disappointed and felt weakened by his bowling analysis of 14-0-65-1 and 11-0-38-0 in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle. That the two finger spinners, tyro Manav Sutar (10 wickets) and Ravindra Jadeja, both of the left-arm variety, bagged 14 of the 20 wickets itself shows the left-arm wrist spinner in poor light. Thanks to an acrobatic effort by skipper Shubman Gill in a close-catching position, Yadav was able to fill the last column in the first innings with the lowest number, but otherwise his bowling was nothing. Seen as a specialist spinner, Yadav has been around for a decade, turning up in whites in 19 Tests (80 wickets at 23.36 and conceding 3.45 an over). Galle was his fifth Test overseas, with two five-wicket hauls in an innings against Bangladesh at Chittagong and against Australia at Sydney. He took 4 for 40 in his first bowling effort against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2017. After his debut some 10 years ago, Yadav has not featured in 70 Tests, and India’s success percentage was 50 in these matches, but in the 19 he has played, the percentage shows a healthy 73.68. The Indian team management will not be inclined to write him off for the second Test in Colombo, but the likes of Head Coach Gautam Gambhir, skipper Gill and senior players will mull over giving off-break bowler Saransh Jain a first chance in the second Test. For the first time, Yadav’s average has shot over 100, and his strike rate shows a dismal 150! Yadav will be among the spin group for the five-Test home series against Australia early next year. The Indian team may not disturb the winning combination, but a deflated Yadav will bowl with anxiety in Colombo, if retained!