Decoding why Team India select Kuldeep Yadav ahead of Axar Patel in 1st Test vs West Indies

Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel for India - (Source: AFP)

On Thursday, October 2, India locked horns against the West Indies in the first of a two-match Test series at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The visitors won the toss and opted to bat first.

The ongoing match marks the beginning of India's new home season and also their first game in the new WTC cycle. For the Windies challenge, the Shubman Gill-led side went ahead with three spinners and two seamers. Despite that, veteran Axar Patel failed to get a place and misses out in his home state. 

Talking about the three spinners, Kuldeep Yadav returns and has been given a nod ahead of Axar. Notably, Kuldeep, who failed to get a single match in the five-match Test series against England, returns to the playing XI in Tests for the first time since humiliation at home against New Zealand last year. So why is Gambhir and co trusting Kuldeep over Axar? This article will deep dive into this query.

1. Presence of left-arm spinner in Ravindra Jadeja

Shubman Gill and Co. already have Axar's like-to-like player in the form of Ravindra Jadeja in the team. For years, the DC star has served as Jaddu's understudy in red-ball cricket. 

Further, Jadeja has been excellent for India, and it is nearly impossible for India to make way for Axar Patel ahead of Ravindra Jadeja. Let's compare the Test stats for both cricketers.

Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel's Test stats at home

Thus, it is clear that the management is going ahead with experience and have Ravindra Jadeja in the team, while Axar Patel misses out.

2. In-form Kuldeep With an Excellent Home Record

Also, if we look at Kuldeep, he is in some fine form and was India's leading wicket-taker in the Asia Cup T20 2025. Thus, the left-arm spinner knows to grab his opportunities.

Also, Kuldeep's inclusion offers variation in the team as India now have a left-arm off-spinner, right-arm off-spinner and a left-arm wrist-spinner.

Adding on, Kuldeep enjoys a better home record than Axar, and with Kuldeep's inclusion, India have hinted that they are going with aggressive intent in the bowling department as well.

Looking at the stats, it is clear that Kuldeep has a better strike-rate than Axar Patel and is a better wicket-taker than the Gujarat-based cricket, which is why India have gone ahead with Kuldeep Yadav.

3. Game Time For Kuldeep Yadav

The upcoming WTC cycle is important for India, and they don't want Kuldeep to get rusty by just warming the bench in red-ball cricket. Further, India also doesn't have R Ashwin in the 2025-2027 WTC cycle, thus they require a spinner who can be an out-and-out wicket-taker. 

In a nutshell, it seems Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill are looking at Kuldeep Yadav as R Ashwin's replacement in the playing XI for home Tests at least.

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