Sunil Gavaskar not agreed with Gambhir, said ‘I would have picked another guy like Kuldeep’

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticised the decision to include Washington Sundar in place of Kuldeep Yadav in the Pune Test against New Zealand. Gavaskar said that it seems that the Indian team management is scared about its batting or is worried about batting.

India dropped Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and KL Rahul for the Pune Test. Shubman Gill returns to the squad, Siraj was replaced by Akash Deep and Washington Sundar was included for his first Test match since March 2021. While commentating during the match, Gavaskar questioned the India’s decision to replace Kuldeep.

“The selection of Washington Sundar tells me that the Indian team was worried about their batting. He is in not just because of his off-spin but because he can get more runs at the lower order. Yes, I think there has been a lot of talk about the number of left-handers in the New Zealand batting line-up but if I had to do that then I would have picked another guy like Kuldeep Yadav, who can turn the ball away from the left-haders. He’s pretty hand with the bat as well. Obviously, not as heavy-scoring as Sundar,” Gavaskar said in commentary on Day 1.

“if we want another bowler who can take the ball away from the left-handers, it’s always going to be useful for us as well. But we haven’t decided what our playing XI is going to be. We feel that with the two openers and one left-hander in the middle. Washington can give us more control, and he is a good option for us,” said head coach Gautam Gambhir before the match.

“It feels like a bit of a panic decision taken by Team India. You do not make 3 changes to the squad often,” Gavaskar stated on commentary.