File image of Anil Kumble© Twitter
India brutally thrashed West Indies by an innings and 141 runs in the first Test of the two-match series on Saturday. It was a completely dominant performance from the visitors as debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 171 runs and star all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin took 12 wickets. In the entire match, the spinners had the upper hand as the pitch at Windsor Park in Roseau was spin-friendly. India spinners Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took a total of 17 wickets while West Indies spinners scalped three out of the five wickets of India.
Former India spinner Anil Kumble praised Team India on such a big win and stated that the team should consider playing leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in such conditions.
“He should definitely be there because he is a very good bowler. Leg-spinners are very attacking bowlers and it is also difficult at times, they concede runs as well but you need to take a leg-spinner along with you and groom him, and whenever you get a chance, he should be given an opportunity,” said Kumble on JioCinema.
“Kuldeep Yadav is a very good spinner for Test matches. He has given very good performances whenever he has got a chance as well. There are a lot of wrist spinners in white-ball formats. We are not getting to see them much in Test matches,” he added.
Kumble further praised the spin-duo of Ashwin and Jadeja and also mentioned the contributions of all-rounder Axar Patel. He again emphasised on including the 28-year-old Kuldeep in the longest format.
“Ashwin and Jadeja are doing a very good job for the Indian team currently. Both are high-quality spin bowlers. The third spinner is also Axar Patel, he has done extremely well whenever he has got an opportunity. As I said, Kuldeep Yadav should also be kept alongside them and played whenever you get a chance,” said Kumble.
Kuldeep has not been named in the Test squad against West Indies. He last played in the longest format against Bangladesh in December 2022. However, he has been named in the ODI squad against West Indies.
The second Test match between India and West Indies will begin from July 20 at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
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