Gambhir, Shubman Gill told to pick Kuldeep Yadav, decision labelled 'absolute no brainer': ‘Would have offered…’

Following India's loss in the Headingley Test against England, former Australia captain Michael Clarke advised Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill to pick Kuldeep Yadav for the remaining matches as the decision is an absolute “no-brainer.” In the series opener, Shubman Gill and co faced a five-wicket defeat as the hosts chased down 371 to gain a 1-0 lead. Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill asked to pick Kuldeep Yadav for the remainder of the England Tests. (Action Images via Reuters)

For the Headingley Test, India went in with one spinner, Ravindra Jadeja. However, the left-arm spinner failed to leave an impression as he took just one wicket. Jadeja, the experienced campaigner, failed to utilise the rough in front of the left-handed batters.

Ben Duckett kept reverse-sweeping him. Jadeja just came in his own in the final session as he dismissed Ben Stokes. However, by that time, the horse had already bolted, and England raced to a famous win with Joe Root and Jamie Smith remaining unbeaten.

Clarke believes playing Kuldeep is the need of the hour. He is a genuine wicket-taker, as per the 2015 World Cup winning captain and doesn't rely much on the pitches' assistance.

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"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. I think he’s a wicket-taker and would have offered a lot more than what he saw the attack do in this Test," Clarke said on the Beyond23 Podcast.

“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 the number one spinner to do that. I think to win in England, you’ve got to look to pick 20 wickets," Clarke added.

Indian attack need to find ways

Clarke also urged Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna to step up, as Jasprit Bumrah cannot do the bulk of the job every time. Bumrah took five wickets in the first innings but went wicketless in the second.

Siraj and Prasidh failed to maintain the pressure as they kept dishing out loose deliveries, allowing England to run away with the game.

“Bumrah’s a star, he’s leading that attack. But the other three pacers, yes, at stages bowled well, but they need to find more ways of taking wickets, more options and their execution has probably got to be better," Clarke said.

“Jadeja didn’t have the impact that I thought he might have. Particularly in the second innings, I thought there was a lot of rough to the left-hander. I thought he bowled a little bit straight," Clarke added.

The second Test between England and India will begin on Wednesday, July 2 at Edgbaston.

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