Shubman Gill has explained India’s decision to leave out Kuldeep Yadav in the series decider against England at Lord’s, saying the team felt the pitch would not offer enough help to spinners. According to Gill, that reading of the surface pushed India toward a more conservative bowling combination in the middle overs, even though the move left them without a specialist wicket-taking option. Kuldeep did not play a single match during the England tour, and India were also without Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the final ODI because of a knee injury.

Despite that, the visitors chose not to bring in the wrist-spinner and instead went in with just five bowling options, using Axar Patel as the only frontline spinner. The call drew attention after India’s attack once again struggled to control England’s scoring. Asked to bowl first, India’s inexperienced unit conceded 387 runs, including 90 in the final six overs. The bowling attack found it difficult to break partnerships or build pressure in the middle phase, with England’s batters taking full advantage of the conditions.

India managed only three wickets in the match, which only added to the debate around selection and balance. Explaining the logic behind Kuldeep’s omission, Gill said the team had seen similar pitches in earlier matches and believed pace would be more effective than spin. He noted that whenever spinners came on, India often felt the need to defend rather than attack, while the fast bowlers at least appeared to create some uncertainty.

ALSO READ: Ravichandran Ashwin Breaks Silence On Rohit Sharma-Gautam Gambhir Camera Viral Clips

“So the matches that we played before this, we had seen the wickets were not offering that much to the spinners. Whenever spinners came into bowl, we felt that we kind of had to go into defensive. Whenever the fast bowlers were bowling, it felt like something was happening. And that was the thought process behind not bringing in an extra spinner,” Shubman Gill said.

However, the India captain admitted that the surface slowed down later in the match, which may have changed the equation. He said the wicket did not appear that sluggish while India were bowling, but it did become slower as the innings progressed.

“With the fast bowlers, you obviously want to create pressure and see chances get created. Maybe in hindsight, looking at the wicket, I think it got a little bit slow. When we were bowling and when Axar bhai was bowling for us, it didn’t look like the wicket would get that slow, but when they came into bowl, it did look like the wicket got a bit slower as the game went on,” Shubman Gill said.

With Bumrah unavailable, India’s pace attack featured Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar. But England’s openers Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell tore into the attack, adding 192 runs for the first wicket. Duckett’s 141 and Bethell’s 91 put India firmly on the back foot.

ALSO READ: Dodda Ganesh Says India Wasted KL Rahul by Changing His Batting Position

Gill acknowledged that the lack of experience showed under pressure. He said India did not begin well with the ball, gave away too many loose deliveries and allowed England to dictate the game from the start. By the time India conceded 90 runs in the last few overs, the target had already moved well beyond a comfortable chase.

“At one point, we were probably looking at 340 or 350. But then they got close to 390, and chasing that kind of total is never easy, no matter what the surface is,” Shubman Gill added.