R Ashwin has strongly criticised India’s decision to leave out Kuldeep Yadav for the fourth Test in Manchester, suggesting the team’s continued obsession with batting depth has come at the cost of wicket-taking options. On a day where England’s openers tore into India’s bowling, Ashwin questioned the team management’s choices. “If somebody had told me that Kuldeep Yadav would not be playing any part in the first four Tests, I would have been very, very surprised,” he said on his YouTube channel. “Unfortunately, it is our obsession with batting and looking for those 20-30 extra runs.” England ended Day 2 at 225/2, trailing by 133, after a 166-run opening stand between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. Their aggressive approach left India’s bowlers struggling.
Ashwin argued that India missed a trick by picking Shardul Thakur, who replaced the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy, ahead of Kuldeep. Shardul scored 41 in the first innings but bowled just five overs on Thursday. “If you are only planning to give Shardul Thakur this many overs, and expect 20-30 runs from him – I love Shardul Thakur, I like him a lot – but if this is the usage point, why can’t you consider Kuldeep Yadav? It is just blowing my head away.” Kuldeep, who has 56 wickets in 13 Tests at 22.16, is seen as someone who could have made a dent in England’s aggressive top order. “I am not saying that Kuldeep would have picked up five wickets if he were playing, but it plays with a batter’s mind,” Ashwin said. “He would have at least picked one wicket – maybe given 40 runs – but broken the opening partnership. I feel India missed someone like Kuldeep Yadav on day two.”
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Ashwin added: “Gone are those days in England; the advantage of 20-30 runs is gone… picking up 2-3 wickets is even more critical than those 30-40 runs.”As India continue to battle it out against the hosts on Day 3, the visitors are yet to take a wicket. Joe Root and Ollie Pope remain solid at the crease as England crossed the 300-run mark before lunch.
