'Don't need Kuldeep. Common sense selection': Manjrekar, Kumble don't see eye-to-eye after Rohit's India XI divides fans
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It seems like Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir pressed the panic button, after losing the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. For the ongoing second Test at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune, the Indian think tank opted to make three changes as they brought in Shubman Gill, Akash Deep and Washington Sundar in place of KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav. While Gill's inclusion was a no-brainer, the call to pick Sundar ahead of a more seasoned spinner in the form of Kuldeep shocked many within the cricketing circles.
The call to pick Akash Deep in place of Mohammed Siraj is also not being questioned considering the form of Siraj off late. However, the Sundar-Kuldeep debate continues to generate polarising opinions. Earlier, former India head coach Anil Kumble had also questioned picking Sundar in the crucial Test.
“It’s surprising to see Sundar getting a game right after coming in the squad,” said Kumble on JioCinema.
While former India captain Sunil Gavaskar minced no words in criticising this particular selection, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar had a different take, and he gave his reasoning behind Sundar picked ahead of Kuldeep. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Manjrekar wrote, "Common sense selection. In-form seamer in. When pitch is offering a lot, you don’t need an artiste like Kuldeep, a tall, quick, finger spinner will do."
Gambhir defends picking Sundar in squad for remaining Tests vs New Zealand
Washington Sundar was added into the India squad for the second and third Test after the hosts suffered a shock eight-wicket loss at the hands of Kiwis in Bengaluru.
Speaking ahead of the second Test, head coach Gautam Gambhir defended picking Sundar in the squad. The former India left-handed batter cited too many left-handers in the Kiwi lineup as a reason behind picking the off-spinner into the squad.
"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 Gambhir at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
Right before being picked by Team India, Sundar had scored a century for Tamil Nadu in a Ranji Trophy. The all-rounder has now made his back into the national side after three years.
He had last played a Test in 2021 in Ahmedabad, where he scored an unbeaten 96 with the bat in hand.
Talking about the ongoing Test between India and New Zealand, the latter won the toss and opted to bat first. The visitors have also made one change, with Mitchell Santner replacing injured Matt Henry.
