Baffling: Sunil Gavaskar tears into Kuldeep Yadav snub in 2nd Test vs England

ENG vs IND: Sunil Gavaskar was left baffled after Shubman Gill revealed that they had decided to go with an extended batting unit instead of bringing in an attacking bowler like Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test at Birmingham.

In Short

• Kuldeep Yadav was not picked for India's second Test vs England
• Gavaskar believes Edgbaston was the ideal venue to play
• India have not reinforced their bowling unit with more attacking options

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was baffled by India’s decision not to include Kuldeep Yadav to strengthen the bowling attack for the second Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Wednesday, 2 July.

The batting great was left gobsmacked by how the visitors opted not to bolster their bowling unit with additional wicket-taking options, even after choosing to rest their premier bowler, Jasprit Bumrah.

Even Ravi Shastri, the former India head coach, was also surprised by the team's move to not play Jasprit Bumrah, considering he is coming in after a week's rest.

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"You have the best fast bowler in the world and you make him sit out after seven days' rest. It's something very hard to believe and I can't agree with it," Shastri said on Sky Sports.

Gavaskar believes the Edgbaston pitch could have been ideal for Kuldeep to weave his magic, given the potential for turn.

"I'm a little baffled that Kuldeep wasn’t picked, because on a pitch like this, where everybody says there’s a little more turn," Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.

At the toss, Shubman Gill revealed that the side had made three changes. Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Sai Sudharsan were left out, with Akash Deep, Washington Sundar and Nitish Reddy coming in as replacements.

Gavaskar also questioned the decision to rest someone like Bumrah, considering he is their most potent attacking bowler. While Akash Deep could be effective in English conditions, given the swing he can generate with his straight-seamed deliveries, the lack of adequate support remains a concern and it could once again come down to a one-man effort to keep India in the contest.

MORE BATTING DEPTH OR MORE ATTACKING BOWLERS?

Gavaskar was also critical of the decision to bring in more all-rounders to deepen the batting line-up, especially after India had amassed over 800 runs across two innings in the first Test at Leeds.

“If your top-order batters are not giving you the runs you expect, then Washington at 7 or Nitish Reddy at 8 won’t necessarily fix that, because those weren’t the batters who failed you in the first Test. You scored 830 runs. You didn’t score 380 in two innings — it was 830-plus. That’s a lot of runs,” he said.

“So, where you needed strengthening was in the wicket-taking department, not so much in the batting,” Gavaskar concluded.

The Indian team are under a lot of pressure in the second fixture, and a loss here could see England walk away with a healthy lead and put them in contention to take the series without breaking a sweat.

- Ends