"I don't think Kuldeep Yadav would have made much of a difference" - Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar has opined that the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav in the Indian team for the first Test in Chennai might not have made a significant difference to their fortunes.

After Axar Patel injured his knee before the start of the match, the Indian team opted to field Ravichandran Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem, and Washington Sundar as their three-pronged spin attack. Kuldeep Yadav, who had not played a Test in Australia as well, continues to be on the sidelines.

India’s most successful new ball bowler is introduced. Let’s get going. Also...on the playing XI....What is Kuldeep supposed to do?? Can’t play when Ash-Jadeja are there. Won’t play even when Jadeja isn’t there and India’s playing at home. When does he play? 🤔 #IndvEng

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 5, 2021

During an interaction on Aaj Tak, Sunil Gavaskar was asked if the result of the first two days of the Test would have been any different if Kuldeep Yadav was part of the playing XI.

The former Indian skipper responded by stating that the left-arm wrist-spinner might not have had a huge impact either. He reasoned the England batsmen, Joe Root and Dom Sibley in particular, handled the spinners very well by getting to the pitch of the deliveries.

"It is very difficult to say that because the pitch was very good for batting yesterday and today. I don't think Kuldeep Yadav would have made much of a difference because the way Joe Root and Dom Sibley batted against spin, going forward near the ball and not letting it to spin or bounce. So, probably Kuldeep Yadav may also not have been able to take the wickets," said Gavaskar.

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Kuldeep Yadav would have lent variety to the Indian attack: Sunil Gavaskar

Kuldeep Yadav has not played a Test for the last couple of years

However, Sunil Gavaskar acknowledged the presence of Kuldeep Yadav would have given a different dimension to the Indian attack.

"But if Kuldeep Yadav had been there in the team, you would have had a different variety. You had two finger spinners - Ashwin and Nadeem, a right-arm and a left-arm one. If you had a leg-spinner as well, right-arm or left-arm, it would have given the variety," observed Gavaskar.

The renowned commentator reasoned that Sundar and Ashwin are similar kinds of bowlers, with the former requiring greater assistance from the pitch to cause trouble for the batsmen.

"There is only a difference of speed between Washington Sundar and Ashwin, with Sundar being a little faster. Washington Sundar also needs help from the pitch. But on this pitch, the play we have seen in the last two days, the bowlers have not got much help. An odd ball turned and an odd ball bounced but still there are a lot of runs on this pitch," concluded Gavaskar.

The Indian team management might have opted to play Washington Sundar ahead of Kuldeep Yadav to lend depth to their batting after the former's exploits in Brisbane. But the move seems to have backfired, as the lanky off-spinner has not looked too threatening and has also failed to keep a check on the scoring rate.

England have really targeted Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar. Hardly a maverick approach but really pronounced - scored at less than 2.5rpo against Ishant and Bumrah, but more than 3.5rpo against the "junior" spinners. #INDvENG

— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) February 6, 2021

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