Sunil Joshi picks India’s spin bowling combination for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Kuldeep Yadav has been in impeccable form ever since his return to the Indian side and with every passing game, he has seemed a lot more vicious. He also shares a unique history with Australia as the last time he was part of an Indo-Australian encounter in the longest format of the game was back in 2019 in Sydney where he bagged a fifer before being sidelined for a prolonged time for injuries and a dip in form.

With Australia coming to India for a four-match Test series, it will be intriguing to see how India line up their spin department against the mighty Aussies, a factor that will be dictating the narrative of the series. Ravichandran Ashwin is an obvious mainstay with the following discussion being that of whether Kuldeep will also be included in the line up or not.

Former Indian spinner, Sunil Joshi had a string of notable points to make and filed a strong argument for the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav in the ranks. Talking to ESPNCricinfo, Joshi highlighted the reasons why Kuldeep should be in the playing XI, stating, “I think so. One, because of his form - he's been good at picking wickets. As a former cricketer, I look more closely at the way he is taking wickets: a spinner getting [the batter] out through the gate bowled, caught at slip, stumped getting to the pitch of the ball, miscuing the ball and getting caught at mid-off, mid-on. These are the areas of dismissal that a spinner would love to take.”

He further added, “If Ashwin is our first option, and if Jadeja is not available, then it should be Kuldeep and Axar. If Jaddu is available and they are playing three spinners, Kuldeep should play. Don't look at the venues or whether our spinners will do well or not at them. Look at the way Kuldeep has picked up wickets. In whatever series he has played recently, whether it is red or white-ball, his dismissals are in the range of [being caught] within the 30-yard circle. That is a great thing for a bowler because it shows you have been very consistent with your line and length. If India has to win against Australia, Kuldeep will play a major part.”

As the Border-Gavaskar Trophy kicks off from the 9th of February, it will be interesting to see how India and Australia go about their business keeping in mind the possible repercussions that the series would have on the fate of the WTC final.