Cricket: Iron is hot, give Kuldeep a chance against England’s weakness for unorthodox spin

India is now trailing in the series against England by 2-1. It is imperative that India must change the script and put the Englishmen on the back foot. What better way to do this than by including the unorthodox left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the side? English batters have always been suspect against bowlers like him. So there is a strong likelihood that he may be India’s answer to England’s juggernaut.

Kuldeep has that ability to pitch the ball in the tricky spot that can best be described as no man’s land, and make it turn unexpectedly. This often catches the best batsmen in two minds. In their formative years, and even in the daily grind of county cricket, English batsmen rarely come across bowlers like Kuldeep, and they may have difficulty in sorting out his bag of tricks.

Englishmen struggle against leg spin, whether it is right-arm or left-arm. It stems from a tendency to resort to attacking sweeps or reverse sweeps from the crease when facing spinners. They hesitate to use their feet to step out and change the bowler’s length.

This, combined with a lack of confidence in their defensive techniques against spin, can lead to their downfall. Additionally, the unique challenges posed by the variations and drift associated with leg break deliveries can make them even more uncomfortable.

Bowlers like Kudeep are rare

Leg spinners with their googlies, floaters, flippers, and top spin variations can be difficult to read at the best of times. As for left-arm leg spinners, there are very few in international cricket. It is a rare art. While there are many successful left-arm finger spinners, the unorthodox left-arm leg spin, as bowled by Kuldeep, is a less common style of attacking the batsmen.

Therefore, chances are very high that most of the present crop of English batsmen have never played against a left-arm leg spinner in their entire career. There may have been one or two during their schooldays, but very probably, never at the top level.

Kuldeep’s record against England

Moreover, Kuldeep has an excellent record against England across all formats. According to statistics recorded in ESPN-Cricinfo, he has taken a total of 43 wickets in international matches against England. In Tests he has taken 21 wickets in 11 innings. His best is 5 for 72. In ODIs he has 14 wickets in 9 matches (best performance 6 for 25), and in the T20 format he has 8 wickets in 3 matches (best being 5 for 24). By any standard, this is extremely good.

In 2017, Yadav became the third Indian bowler to take a hattrick in ODIs after Chetan Sharma and Kapil Dev. Two years later, he repeated his feat. On 3rd July 2018, Yadav took his first five-wicket haul in a T20 international match and also became the first left-arm wrist spin bowler to take five wickets in a T20I during a match against England.

A few days later, during an ODI against England, Yadav grabbed his maiden five-wicket haul in the ODI format and also set a new record for registering the best bowling figures by a left-arm spin bowler of any kind in an ODI (6 for 25). He also shattered the record of Shahid Afridi for registering the best bowling figures by a spin bowler against England in ODIs.

Time is ripe

These statistics are a wonderful record and it should be enough for him to be given an opportunity. He can be the man of the moment whom India is seeking desperately. So what is the Indian team management waiting for? The iron is hot and this is the right time to strike. Give Kuldeep a chance.