England vs India | The curious case of Kuldeep Yadav

It is tough to be Kuldeep Yadav, essential enough to be picked in most Indian Test squads but deemed unnecessary as the morning of the match dawns. The Leeds Test that India lost to England by five wickets is only the latest example.

The left-arm wrist spinner made his debut back in March 2017 against Australia in Dharamshala. Since then, he has played a paltry 13 matches across nine series. Twice he has been the Player-of-the-Match only to not play the subsequent tie. In fact, he has featured in more than one fixture in the same series just two times.

There is a combination of factors at play. If at home, the superior batting returns of R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel put paid to his chances, the reluctance to include more than one spinner in overseas XIs has held him back.

All of this was supposed to change in the new, post-Ashwin era of Indian cricket. With Mohammed Shami not match-fit and Jasprit Bumrah unable to play for long stretches, Kuldeep’s attacking nous and wicket-taking ability — even under batting-friendly conditions — were expected to be prized and cherished.

Yet, in Headingley last week, on a mostly flat and dry pitch, Kuldeep warmed the bench. The irony was that the last time India played England, in Dharamshala in March 2024, Kuldeep was adjudged the best player as he ran through a batting order that had Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Ben Stokes.

After the Leeds shellacking, there is heightened clamour to draft Kuldeep in. Online talk and social media chatter can be bereft of depth, but there is a good case to be made ahead of the Birmingham Test starting July 2.

The Edgbaston strip is expected to be as true and good for batting as Headingley. It has also been an unusually dry summer in England, and local weather reports are predicting a heat wave from July 1. Though rain is always in the air in the British Isles, temperatures in the West Midlands are expected to hover around 30 degrees.

More than this, Kuldeep’s USP is that he is not limited by the conditions. In the 2024 home series in India, England struggled against the 30-year-old on fair wickets. And in the first Test here, as well as Duckett — and to an extent Stokes — played, the southpaws did not trust their defence against fellow left-arm spinner Jadeja, a potential cue.

The only thing that may go against Kuldeep is that his presence lengthens the tail, for he will have to bat at No. 8, a place higher than his usual slot. But he is no disaster with the willow.

In his player-of-the-match effort against Bangladesh in Chattogram, he scored a career-best 40 after coming in at 293 for seven. Then, in the Ranchi Test against England last year, he staged a spectacular rescue-act alongside Dhruv Jurel, making an important 28 after coming in at 177 for seven. More than the runs, he batted time on both occasions, eating up 114 and 131 deliveries respectively.

Above all, it is a no-brainer that Kuldeep is among the four best bowlers in this Indian touring party to England, along with Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Jadeja. Surely, there should be a place for him?