Kuldeep has taken 56 wickets in 13 Tests at an average of 22.16, but wasn\u2019t included in the playing eleven for the first Test in Leeds, as England eventually chased down 371 to beat India by five wickets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"I think Kuldeep Yadav has to come back. I\u2019m sorry to say, but Shardul Thakur has to go out. That is one change India will have to make. As for Nitish Kumar Reddy \u2014 I backed him for the first Test purely based on what he did in Australia. It\u2019s an unpopular choice, because when he comes in, the balance does get affected a bit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"He won\u2019t quite bowl like a fourth seamer, so India needs to take a hard call: even in English conditions, they must go with quality bowlers. If that means playing two spinners, so be it. Pick your best bowlers, irrespective of the conditions. You don\u2019t have the luxury of someone like Mohammed Shami available, or the full-strength pace battery, so I\u2019d go one seamer short and bring Kuldeep Yadav into the XI. He has to play,\" said Manjrekar on JioHotstar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In Leeds, Thakur bowled just 16 overs and took two wickets. Moreover, he failed to make a strong impact with the bat. \u201cLet\u2019s also acknowledge that English summers these days are largely dry \u2014 thanks to global warming, perhaps \u2014 and that does open the door for spin. In a way, it\u2019s time to reintroduce the idea of India playing spin in England. Ben Stokes has already changed the narrative with common-sense, aggressive cricket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"India needs to embrace the same clarity. There was a time when India would play three spinners no matter what \u2014 whether in New Zealand or England. If Kuldeep is in your squad, play him. Don\u2019t go with seamers just because you\u2019re playing in England. I\u2019d drop one seamer and bring in Kuldeep Yadav,\" added Manjrekar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The former India batter was also very critical of Jadeja, as he felt the veteran left-arm spin all-rounder missed an opportunity to exploit the rough in Leeds. In both innings, despite getting turn and bounce at times, Jadeja returned with lackluster figures of 0-68 and 1-104 respectively.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"It\u2019s not fair to be overly critical of younger players like Prasidh Krishna \u2014 there are obvious areas for improvement. But I am going to be critical of Ravindra Jadeja. This was a final-day pitch with rough patches for him to exploit. And while there were a couple of chances, we have to expect more from someone of his experience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"These weren\u2019t typical English conditions where the pitch offers nothing. I felt he didn\u2019t use the rough nearly enough \u2014 especially against Ben Duckett. Against Ben Stokes, yes, he did make an effort. But it was only much later in Duckett\u2019s innings that Jadeja started using the rough properly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"It\u2019s not fair to be overly critical of younger players like Prasidh Krishna \u2014 there are obvious areas for improvement. But I am going to be critical of Ravindra Jadeja. This was a final-day pitch with rough patches for him to exploit. And while there were a couple of chances, we have to expect more from someone of his experience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> LIVE Cricket Score<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n