The Kuldeep Yadav question hangs over Gautam Gambhir despite promising series result

Kuldeep Yadav didn't play a single match in the five-Test series against England (BCCI)

To say that Gautam Gambhir was on thin ice before India’s Test side left for England was putting it mildly. Though India had won the Champions Trophy in the UAE in February-March, results in red-ball cricket had been disastrous. When Gambhir took over as coach from Rahul Dravid after the T20 World Cup triumph, India were cruising towards a third straight World Test Championship (WTC) final. Even with a series in Australia looming, a comfortable home win over New Zealand would have all but sealed their spot in the Lord’s showpiece.

Instead, India were thumped 3-0, their worst result on home soil in decades. The Australia tour, which started so well with a superb victory in Perth, unravelled at the rate of knots. Midway through, R Ashwin retired, piqued by being repeatedly left out. Rohit Sharma’s poor form saw him sit out the final Test in Sydney. By then, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj had been bowled into the ground, both finishing the series with more than 150 overs under their belts. Bumrah breaking down in Sydney cost India any chance of a series-levelling win.

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Worse, India appeared to have no bowling strategy besides throwing the ball to Bumrah, who took an incredible 32 wickets in the series. The three spinners used – Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar – bowled fewer overs than Nathan Lyon combined, and took less wickets as well. Siraj and Bumrah took on huge burdens while no one else even bowled 80 overs across the five Tests.

The same confusion was apparent in England. A 2-2 result is something to be proud of while touring a country where even mighty Australia haven’t won since 2001. But the reality is that India also lost two matches they should have won. At Headingley, England chased down over 370 for victory, as they so nearly did at The Oval too. In the final game, the spinners bowled only 10 overs, reflecting the lack of faith in the wicket-taking ability of both Jadeja and Washington.

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We can only wonder what the scoreline would have been had Kuldeep Yadav played. Before the series began, Michael Clarke, one of the best Test captains of the modern era and a magnificent player of spin himself, had said that Kuldeep would be India’s X-factor in England. He wasn’t the only one to think so. Several English batsmen had admitted they couldn’t pick Kuldeep when he took 19 wickets against them on home soil in 2024, but India kept opting for more batting down the order instead.

Jadeja and Washington both finished with seven wickets, less than the nine Lyon managed in just three innings before getting injured in the 2023 Ashes. In 22 previous Tests in England dating back to 2007, India – with a plethora of batting legends – had crossed 350 just eight times in 44 innings. In this series alone, they went past 350 eight times. And still didn’t win. If that doesn’t make Gambhir and co sit up and reassess the bowling strategy, nothing will. To talk of taking 20 wickets is easy. But to do it, it helps to pick your best bowlers.