Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra shared that Team India might have to choose between Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel as an additional spinner for the first Test against New Zealand. He also urged India to do away with their seamer-heavy approach and attack New Zealand with spin. The first Test of the three-match Test series will start in Bengaluru on Wednesday, October 16. India went with a three-seam attack in the two Tests against Bangladesh, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as the two spinners as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “Will they (India) want to play an extra spinner? The sort of pitches we made last time, whether we talk about the first match in Chennai and the second match in Kanpur, we tried to make slightly pace-friendly pitches. We went with three fast bowlers. That was the game plan because you were looking forward to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and you can play pace in any case against Bangladesh but not against New Zealand. I would say let’s go back to our tried and tested formula and play spin. There will be a toss-up between Axar and Kuldeep.”

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In the same video, Aakash Chopra also backed Kuldeep Yadav to play.

“I would say Kuldeep Yadav because he is a wicket-taker. He is your left-arm wrist-spinner. He is a bowler who will trouble the opposition. Now since Kane Williamson is also not there, for the first game at least, you can try to trap them against spin. So I would feel that you should play an extra spinner. The experiment with three fast bowlers is not a great idea in India. Bumrah, Siraj and Akash Deep are good, but I think now it’s time for you to get Kuldeep Yadav into the team, and he picks up wickets quickly,” Aakash Chopra concluded.