Sanjay Bangar selects India’s primary spinner for the England tour, says the team needs a bowler who can take wickets

Former India cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels that Kuldeep Yadav should spearhead the spin attack in the UK in the absence of these two seasoned bowlers since he is a true wicket-taker who can perform well even in swing-friendly conditions.

India announced their 18-man squad on Saturday, May 24, for the five-match Test tour of England that begins on June 20. Rohit Sharma withdrew from the longest format on May 7 and was replaced as Test captain by Shubman Gill, marking the beginning of a new era for the Asian heavyweights.

Regarding the bowling attack, Mohammed Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin would be missed by India for various reasons. Shami was not selected because of doubts over his match fitness, while Ashwin retired from Test cricket during the most recent Border-Gavaskar series.

For the first three Test matches in England, Kuldeep Yadav ought to be India’s starting spinner. During the “Follow The Blues – India vs England Test Squad Announcement Special” on JioHotstar, Bangar stated, “India needs a wicket-taking bowler who can make an impact even in swing-friendly conditions, as Mohammed Shami is not in the lineup and Ravichandran Ashwin is not available.”

Sanjay Bangar believes that Kuldeep should be India’s preferred spinner rather than Ravindra Jadeja since English wickets are unlikely to offer as much turn or rough patches to utilise.

England is unlikely to provide spin-friendly tracks early on, but Jadeja is typically preferred abroad due to his control and ability to take advantage of bumpy sections. Matches at Headingly, Edgbaston, and Lord’s—all seam-friendly locations—will kick off the season in June. With Bumrah, Siraj, and Akash Deep as their speed trio and Nitish Reddy as their batting all-rounder, India can afford to use just one spinner, and that should be Kuldeep, Bangar said.

We must ensure that Bumrah is not overworked: The need of keeping Jasprit Bumrah healthy during the five-match Test series was stressed by Bangar Bangar. The former cricket player who is now a broadcaster claimed that India overbowled Bumrah during the Border-Gavaskar series, which had an impact on his bowling pace.

First and foremost, we must ensure that Bumrah is not overworked. Using the bowling lineup that was selected around him, the team management will have a significant impact at that point. There were a lot of all-rounders in the Australia series, and Bumrah was occasionally overused because the team wanted him to bowl constantly, which had an impact on his bowling speed,” he said.

He was down to 120-129 in one of the tests. You need a more potent bowling team to support him during five Test matches. India has a better chance of winning the more games he plays,” he continued.