'He Is In Not Just Due To His Off-Spin But..': Gavaskar Disagrees With Move To Replace Kuldeep With Sundar
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Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has said that India may have panicked a bit after being thrashed by eight wickets in the Bengaluru Test and hence decided to bring Washington Sundar straight into the playing XI, replacing Kuldeep Yadav. He added that after the batting debacle in the first innings in Bengaluru, India felt the need to add more cushion to their lineup.
In an expected move, Sundar, who was added to the team after the Bengaluru Test loss, made it to the playing XI, replacing Kuldeep.
It was a surprising move after Sundar received an immediate call-up during a Ranji Trophy match between Tamil Nadu and Delhi, where he scored a hundred.
"I don't see a lot of teams making three changes unless there are injury concerns. Washington Sundar inclusion which tells you they are worried about their batting. More than his bowling, they need his batting down the order as the cushion," Gavaskar said while speaking on JioCinema.
"Yes, there is a lot of talk about the left-handers in the New Zealand batting unit, but I would have picked Kuldeep Yadav, who can also turn it away from a left-hander," Gavaskar added.
Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull said that while India didn't panic, they went away from their vision of backing players and not dropping them while benching KL Rahul.
"I don’t think, they have pressed the panic button. It just surprises me a little bit. There were press conferences before the tour about backing players, backing their ability and all of a sudden, after one Test, you are saying the guy who was good enough in the first Test is now not good enough," Doull said.
"Washington Sundar, coming off runs in domestic cricket, straightaway is in the XI. Does that tell me they are not happy with how Ashwin bowled? But they are bringing in another off-spinner because he (Ashwin) didn’t bowl well in the first Test," Doull added.
At lunch, New Zealand were 92/2 after 31 overs, with Sundar bowling seven overs while giving away just 11 runs, which includes three maidens.
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