Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar defended skipper Rohit Sharma’s decision to omit spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the playing eleven for the second Test against New Zealand in favour of an in-form seamer Akash Deep. New Zealand skipper Tom Latham won the toss and elected to bat first in the second Test of the three-match series against India at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium on Thursday. For India, pacer Mohammed Siraj, batter KL Rahul and spinner Kuldeep Yadav sat out. Shubman Gill returns to the playing eleven after missing the first Test due to neck stiffness. Akash Deep took Siraj’s place while Washington Sundar took Kuldeep’s spot for his first Test appearance since March 2021.

This game is a must-win for Team India, as they are 1-0 down in the series. The Rohit Sharma-led team will have to win this game to keep their 12-year-long home supremacy alive and solidify their chances of making a hat-trick of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) finals as a tougher Australian challenge awaits them.

Despite his fine numbers in whites, Kuldeep has often been made to sit out for Tests in favour of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, due to their fine capabilities with the bat. In 13 Tests, Kuldeep has taken 56 wickets at an average of 22.16, with best figures of 5/40. He has got four five-wicket hauls in Tests. Kuldeep played the Bengaluru Test against the Kiwis, taking three wickets for 99 runs in the first innings. He missed the entirety of two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home before this.

In the home series against England which took place from January to March this year, Kuldeep shined for India with the ball, taking 19 wickets in four matches and even chipping in some useful runs with the bat, stitching some match-changing partnerships making use of a rock-solid defence.

Taking to X, Manjrekar wrote supporting Akash Deep and Sundar’s inclusion, ” Common sense selection. In-form seamer in. When pitch is offering a lot, you don’t need an artiste like Kuldeep, a tall, quick, finger spinner will do. #INDvNZ.”

Common sense selection. In-form seamer in. When pitch is offering a lot, you don’t need an artiste like Kuldeep, a tall, quick, finger spinner will do. ????#INDvNZ

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 24, 2024

In three Tests so far, Akash Deep has taken eight wickets at an average of 23.12, with best figures of 3/83.

On the other hand, Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar expressed disappointment with Kuldeep’s exclusion from the side and opined that the hosts’ move to add spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar to the playing eleven was a sign of “panic”.

Speaking on air during the match, Gavaskar said that the move to add Sundar to boost up the batting was a move based on panic.

“I do not 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. 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 said.

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand (Playing XI): Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William O’Rourke.