Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar slammed Indian captain and coach duo Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir for bringing in Washington Sundar into the playing 11 for the second test, preferring him over Kuldeep Yadav, a seasonal Indian red-ball spinner.
Sundar, who was not originally part of the 15-member Indian squad for the New Zealand series, went on to be called up for the remaining tests after India lost the opening test at Bengaluru by 8 wickets.
Despite having the likes of an additional spinner in Axar Patel, Gambhir clarified that he thought of adding the likes of the off-spinner, sighting the number of left-handed batters in the New Zealand batting lineup.
After being named in the squad, Sundar straight away made a place in the Indian Playing 11 for the second test at Pune.
“We just felt that they have four or five left-handers in the playing XI as well. So if we want another bowler who can take the ball away from the left-handers, it’s always going to be useful for us as well. But we haven’t decided what our playing XI is going to be. We feel that with the two openers and one left-hander in the middle. Washington can give us more control, and he is a good option for us,” said Gautam Gambhir, indicating his decision to bring in Sundar.
However, Gavaskar did not agree with the theory claimed by the Indian Head coach. The Indian great remarked that Sundar’s selection was totally based on his batting performance in the Ranji Trophy, as he might strengthen their lower order.
“The selection of Washington Sundar tells me that the Indian team was worried about their batting. He is in not just because of his off-spin but because he can get more runs at the lower order. Yes, I think there has been a lot of talk about the number of left-handers in the New Zealand batting line-up but if I had to do that then I would have picked another guy like Kuldeep Yadav, who can turn the ball away from the left-haders. He’s pretty hand with the bat as well. Obviously, not as heavy-scoring as Sundar,” Gavaskar said in commentary on Day 1.
New Zealand dropped last-match hero Matt Henry for Santner in the second Test
Reports suggested that New Zealand would have to play on a very struggling track at the Pune pitch, which is expected to be a spin-fly track to be played over Red soil. The pitch was suggested to be flatter and more anticipated to turn.
Hence, New Zealand anticipates the extremities have decided to drop the likes of quick bowler Matt Henry, the star who picked 7 wickets in game 1. They brought back the likes of Mitchell Santner, the experienced all-rounder for New Zealand, to assess his spin in the second test.
Alongside Sundar, India have made two more changes to their playing 11. Shubman Gill, who missed out on the first test due to stiffness in his neck, replaces KL Rahul, while Akash Deep, the young pacer, has been brought back in place of Mohammad Siraj, who went wicketless at the Chinnaswamy test.
