"It was an error"- When Ravi Shastri made a candid admission about picking a spinner for Lord's Test against England in 2018

India left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav's non-selection for the second Test against England at Edgbaston became a subject of much discussion. Several former players and pundits had questioned the decision to opt for batting depth over picking an attacking bowling option like Yadav, despite trailing 1-0 in the series.

Yet, in 2018, India were at the centre of criticism when they picked Yadav for the Lord's Test against England. The spinner returned with figures of 0/44 in nine ineffective overs on a surface that did not suit him.

The-then head coach Ravi Shastri had admitted that playing the spinner in that match was a mistake and India could have been better off picking a fast bowler.

"In hindsight, it was an error. Seeing the conditions, we could have gone with an extra seamer. That might have helped," Shastri had said in 2018 (via ESPN Cricinfo).

The 63-year-old, however, did defend the decision saying that India had not anticipated the amount of rain that fell in that Test match.

"Then again, you didn't know how much it would rain.Whether a match could go into the final day where, just in case a spinner is needed and the ball started to turn, would we have needed him? But in hindsight, the way things panned out, the amount it rained, the amount of time we lost, a seamer could have been a better option," he added.

Yadav did not play the remaining three Test matches as India opted to go with the experienced Ravichandran Ashwin at Southampton and Ravindra Jadeja at The Oval.

India fell well short in excellent bowling conditions against England at Lord's

After losing the series opener at Edgbaston in 2018, India came to Lord's looking to square the series. The opening day's play was washed out and the-then England captain Joe Root won an important toss and inserted India in to bat first.

The Indian batters failed to adapt in fine bowling conditions and were bundled out for 107 on Day 2. The hosts then piled on the pressure, making 396/7 declared with Chris Woakes registering his maiden Test hundred.

India did not fare any better in the second essay and were bowled out for 130, thereby losing by an innings and 159 runs to go 2-0 down in the series.