Mohammad Kaif said that India captain Shubman Gill should have given Kuldeep Yadav longer spells in the recently concluded Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle. He bowled 25 overs across two innings but finished wicketless. The former India batter suggested that Gill doesn’t seem to have enough faith in Kuldeep. He also added that a bowler like Kuldeep is rare for any team and that it would be tough to find a replacement.

Kaif said in his latest YouTube video: “From how he was used, it is clear that Shubman Gill doesn’t have enough faith in Kuldeep Yadav. From my point of view, you won’t get a unique bowler like Kuldeep that often. They come just once or twice in history. We may get Ravindra Jadeja’s replacement in the future, like we have Suthar; then we had Washington Sundar after Ashwin, but Kuldeep is a unique gift.”

“When you give a bowler a spell, especially a wrist-spinner, you need to give him a long spell. The short spells are not helping Kuldeep. Longer spells give you the chance to rectify mistakes. You need time to get into rhythm. Shubman Gill did not back him in that sense,” he again said.

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“I agree with Ravi Shastri, who said that Kuldeep is our No. 1 spinner in overseas conditions. You just need accuracy on turning tracks. You will somehow get a wicket by bowling at the same area. But you won’t get such turning tracks in New Zealand. I feel Kuldeep will play a major role on flat pitches or pitches where there won’t be much turn on offer. You will have to keep his confidence high as captain and team management,” Kaif added.

Mohammad Kaif also shared how Team India may want to add an off-spinner to their playing XI to counter Sri Lanka’s left-hand-heavy batting lineup as well. He stated that Kuldeep Yadav may be benched for the second Test in favour of all-rounder Saransh Jain.

“I feel India might be considering playing Saransh Jain in Colombo. The two batters who scored runs, Dickwella and Sonal, are both lefties. There came a time when Shubman Gill was searching for an off-spinner when they were batting. Because of Sri Lanka’s in-form lefties, maybe Kuldeep will have to face the axe. It was Suthar vs Saransh earlier; now it will be Kuldeep vs Saransh,” he concluded.