New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) Though Kuldeep Yadav has been an international cricketer for seven years, it does come as a bit of surprise that he’s featured in only 13 Tests so far. With a combination of loss of form, career-threatening knee injury and other spinners being around meant that Kuldeep hasn’t really established himself in the Indian Test team.

The last time Kuldeep played a Test match in England, he had a forgettable outing on a green pitch and rain-affected conditions at Lord’s in 2018. He conceded 44 runs in the nine overs he bowled and bagged a pair as a batter, as India’s selection gamble backfired spectacularly.

Now with Ravichandran Ashwin retired, India need that cutting edge in their spin-bowling unit and all eyes will be on whether Kuldeep can live up to it when the series in England starts in Leeds on June 20. Venkatapathy Raju, the former India left-arm spinner, certainly feels Kuldeep can be the surprise match-winner in England.

“Somebody like Kuldeep, it’s very difficult for a new batter to pick him. So, I think he should be a surprise match-winner in this series. He has to (be that) because he has played quite a bit of international cricket – let it be white-ball or anything else.”

“Now we got another experienced spinner in Ravindra Jadeja. But again, he has played so many years and now you can really see that the zip is not that much nowadays. With Washington Sundar, you can’t really put pressure on him, because you just saw him playing a couple of Test matches in India and Australia.”

“But then, he has not been a regular member – a left-hand batter who can bowl off-spin. Also, as the tour goes on, the weather will become hotter and wickets will become more drier. So, contributions of Kuldeep and Jadeja will be really important in the second half – to pick those wickets in the second innings,” Raju told IANS in an exclusive interaction organised by Sony Sports Network on Sunday.

The retirements of Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, coupled with Mohammed Shami’s not being there due to fitness concerns, leaves Jadeja as the sole survivor from the ‘OG’ Test team. His presence, especially with the bat, is more crucial than ever for India now that he’s the most experienced player in the current squad – owing to touring England thrice and playing in two WTC finals.

“While we are talking about Kuldeep, I think we should not forget Ravindra Jadeja – he is going to be very, very crucial. He is also in that mid-30s – super fit, and can bat a bit. Unfortunately, what happened with Jadeja was, they always thought that he is a second-innings bowler who can just bowl on a turning track, and where the wicket is assisting.”

“But he can be a guy who can control the game in between. He is also probably on the stag end of his career, where contributions become very, very important. So, the first couple of Test matches will really test Jadeja. Even though he has played so much of cricket, it will test him.”

“I think it will be a tussle between him and Washington sooner. So, I think he should be using his experience and then give those breakthroughs, where it will help the fast bowlers to get India back into the game,” elaborated Raju.

With England experiencing a lot of dry weather and temperatures set to climb up in the coming days, it means conditions would be conducive for Indian spinners to thrive. “Initially, it will favour fast bowlers and batters for the first couple of days. But from the second half of the third or fourth day, that’s going to be very, very important, because there will be a lot of foot marks and dry patches.”

“We have already seen in England, if it’s red soil, there is good bounce. So, that’s where Ravindra Jadeja should play a crucial role. Then, we have been talking about Kuldeep, and how they combine. We all knew about Chahal and Kuldeep (in white-ball). So, now I think for this particular series, it might be Jadeja and Kuldeep who can turn the tables in favour of the Indian side,” added Raju.

He signed off by explaining the adjustments Indian spinners would be required to make when bowling with the Dukes ball in England. “If you compare Dukes and SG balls, it’s almost similar because a lot of us are used to big seams. But in England, the conditions are different, grounds are smaller, though some grounds are bigger, and dimensions are totally different.”

“So, it depends on what length you bowl. It’s basically your length. It has to be slightly upper because sometimes the wickets are so slow that on the normal length also, you can just go back and play cut shots. You see nowadays, they play more of cut and sweep.”

“So, it’s the pace and length that matters a lot, as well as patience. England is all about patience – you can’t just think about getting a wicket on every ball. So, it has to be more of good line and length, good rhythm, and then, creating pressure on the batters.”

Watch India tour of England from 3:30 pm, June 20 onwards live on Sony Sports Ten 1 & Sony Sports Ten 5 channels.

–IANS

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