Michael Clarke feels India should consider left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI for the remaining Tests against England. According to the former Australia captain, the choice to start Kuldeep was a "no-brainer" because of his propensity to take wickets regardless of the pitch conditions.
For the first Test, India selected Ravindra Jadeja as their lone spinner. However, with only one wicket in both innings combined, the seasoned all-rounder was unable to have much of an influence. Even while there were rough patches available, Jadeja was unable to extract advantage from it. This saw England chase down a staggering 371 with very much ease and are now leading 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Clarke was blunt in his remarks on the Beyond23 Podcast. "Bowling-wise, I do not want to be hard on any individual, but I think they've got to play Kuldeep Yadav. I think it is an absolute no-brainer. He's a wicket-taker and would have offered a lot more than what the attack did in this Test," said the 2015 World Cup-winning captain.
India's propensity to put batting depth ahead of a well-rounded bowling lineup was criticized by Clarke. "India have done this for a while. They care so much about extra batting or stacking the batting deep, and they are willing to risk picking their number one spinner to do that. I think to win in England, you've got to look to take 20 wickets," he added.
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Jasprit Bumrah, who took five wickets in the first innings but was wicketless in the second, also needed more support, Clarke emphasized. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, Clarke said, were unable to maintain pressure and bowled too many sloppy deliveries.
"Bumrah's a star, he's leading that attack. But the other three pacers, yes, at times they bowled well, but they need to find more ways of taking wickets. Their execution probably needs to be better," Clarke noted.
Regarding Jadeja's lackluster performance, Clarke added: "Jadeja didn't have the impact I thought he might. Particularly in the second innings, I expected him to exploit the rough outside the left-hander's off-stump. I thought he bowled a little too straight."
