'Surprised' Anil Kumble's Blunt Verdict As India Drop Sai Sudharsan For 1st Test
India batter Sai Sudharsan's exclusion from the first Test against South Africa left many baffled.
- India dropped Sai Sudharsan from the playing XI for the first Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens
- India selected four spinners and two fast bowlers for the match, surprising former spinner Anil Kumble
- "I certainly expected 3 spinners to play," Kumble said on the team selection
Former India captain and spin legend Anil Kumble was left perplexed seeing the Shubman Gill-led Indian team's baffling selection for the first Test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Kumble expressed his strong surprise at the team management's decision to drop young batsman Sai Sudharsan from the playing XI. India's decision to pick Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant, together with 4 spin bowling options, left no space in the team for Sudharsan.
"Really surprised at the lineup because I certainly expected Sai Sudarshan to be playing in this Test match. Who's going to bat at No.3? That will be the question. Washington Sundar has been slotted to bat at No.3 so India will be bowling first. 4 spinners and 2 fast bowlers," said Kumble on the official broadcast before the start of play after the lineups of the two teams were confirmed.
India's decision to play four spinners baffled Kumble, a legendary spinner himself. The former leg-spinner said that he expected three spinners to be picked for the match, but 4 is quite baffling.
"I certainly expected 3 spinners to play and 2 fast bowlers. So, that's going to be a bit of a challenge. Day 1, the wicket is good. It's not like you need 4 spinners and one of them will certainly get under-bowled. So, it's going to be interesting to see how Shubman Gill uses his resources on Day 1. Of course, the 2 new ball bowlers will become that much more critical on day 1 for India," he added.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir's obsession with all-rounders isn't a hidden story. Kumble also feels it's the inclusion of maximum possible all-rounders in the team that left no space open for Sudharsan.
"It's all-rounders. I mean, if you look at the batting lineup, Washington Sundar has been slotted at 3. So, obviously, if he bats at 3, then the batters are Shubman, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. The rest of them are all-rounders. I consider Rishabh Pant as an all-rounder," said Kumble.
"Dhruv Jhurel is an all-rounder. Then you have Jadeja, Akshar Patel and Washington Sundar. So, it's a team full of all-rounders, and that's probably the kind of team that India is going with in all 3 formats of the game," he added.
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team