R Ashwin on second Test: ’Kuldeep Yadav has to play’, ‘This Test will show if Gambhir and Gill seriously committed to taking 20 wickets’

“Kuldeep Yadav has to play. If there is not much grass, Kuldeep has to play. Drop anyone you want, but Kuldeep has to play. If he does play, the England tail also won’t score much runs. Kuldeep would help you win 2-3 Tests in the series as he would create problems.”

When a co-panelist on his show Prasanna Agoram, former performance analyst of South Africa, suggested three changes to the team – Kuldeep for Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh for Prasidh Krishna, and Nitish Reddy in for Karun Nair or Sai Sudarshan, Ashwin said his point of view.

“I sort of agree but am not a big fan of too many changes. So if Kuldeep comes in for Shardul Thakur, I would retain Prasidh Krishna, as he showed in the second innings of the first Test that when he bowls well, he could do it. I would also think about the left-arm angle of Arshdeep Sigh but since he is still not a proven commodity in Test cricket, let’s not forget what Akash Deep can do. I am okay with either Akash Deep/Arshdeep in case Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t play.” Ashwin said.

Diving further into the debate whether Nitish Kumar Reddy should replace either Karun Nair or Sai Sudarshan, Ashwin said, “I know for a fact that this management really rates Nitish Reddy.”

He also spoke about the pitches in England and the role of heavy rollers.

“People talk about footmarks, last day etc but England is a very unforgiving place for spinners. In Australia you get bounce and speed and you can bowl if you have tactical plans.

“But in England, the pitch keeps getting slower. People forget the role of heavy rollers. First day there might be some dampness on pitch, and there might be dents. And you might think oh these will get worse – as that’s the experience in subcontinental pitches but in England, with heavy rollers, things start settling down. Every day and innings, you get heavy rollers and these are those big 1-ton, 2-ton machine rollers. The pitch settles down for an hour after that, and also starts to get slower as game progresses.”

He also spoke about how contrary to the popular wisdom, spin might have more of a say in the first three days at Edgbaston. “Edgbaston is one of the rare groups in England, along with headingley where the first test was played, that there might be some bounce. Largely in the first three days, there will definitely be spin. In the back half of the game, the spin will reduce but it will have a chance. I liked bowling with the new(ish) ball in Edgbaston.” In the 2018 Test against England at this venue, Ashwin had bowled Alastair Cook in both innings with rippers that swerved in from round the stumps and spun quickly, past the defensive prod, to knock back the off stump.

He also raised a point about whether India (not just the team but those who watch it) give more importance to IPL. “How easy is to leave Karun Nair out. I think Sai is going to be a superstar, but he is the first batter to have less than 40 average but has been picked for test cricket, and still we talk about leaving Karun first rather than Sai. It raises the question whether we in India give more importance to IPL performances. Don’t misinterpret me, I think Sai is going to be a superstar…”