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'Sign Of Panic': Sunil Gavaskar Criticises India's Move To Drop Kuldeep Yadav For Second Test

Sunil Gavaskar and Washington Sundar [Source: @RevSportzGlobal,@sports_tak/x.com]Sunil Gavaskar and Washington Sundar [Source: @RevSportzGlobal,@sports_tak/x.com]

India are up against New Zealand in a must-win second Test against at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Ahead of the match, India opted to make three changes from their playing XI in the first.

With Shubman Gill fit to play, he found his way into the team instead of the out-of-form KL Rahul. Akash Deep found his way into the team in Mohammed Siraj's place. The third change for India was that Washington Sundar replaced Kuldeep Yadav. While the first couple of changes seemed logical, the third change was surprising for many fans and game experts. 

Gavaskar Is Surprised By The Move From Indian Management

One of the experts who was surprised by the move or did not like the change was the Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar. The former Indian batter looked annoyed that India dropped Kuldeep after only one game. Gavaskar opined that it was a 'move of panic' by the team management as they wanted Sundar's batting more than his bowling. Here is what Gavaskar said on air - 

"I don't see a lot of teams making three changes unless there are injury concerns. Washington Sundar's inclusion tells you they are worried about their batting. More than his bowling, they need his batting down the order as the cushion. Yes, there is a lot of talk about the left-handers in the New Zealand batting unit, but I would have picked Kuldeep Yadav, who can also turn it away from a left-hander."

Washington Sundar In Test Cricket

Ahead of this game, Washington Sundar has played four Test matches for India. In these matches, he has scored 265 runs at an average of 66.25. In the case of his bowling, Sundar has picked six wickets at an average of 49.83. As far as the Test numbers of Sundar are concerned, Gavaskar might not be too wrong about the reason India selected Sundar in Kuldeep Yadav's place.