The Indian team took on Sri Lanka in the second Test of the series. The two sides met at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, from August 23, and India came in to bat first.
It is worth noting that India won the toss, and with the playing XI revealed, it was revealed that star spinner Kuldeep Yadav is not featuring in the game.
Notably, the BCCI issued a statement where they stated that Kuldeep Yadav has yet to recover from his illness, Saransh Jain replaced him in the XI for the clash. It is interesting to note that Kuldeep Yadav had a subpar first Test and could not live up to his full potential in the game, which saw many experts come forward and question his place.
Speaking on the same, former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta took centre stage and talked about how Kuldeep Yadav should be given extra backing for him to perform at the peak of his powers.
“Spinners in general are of two types. Some are naturally confident no matter what, and others for whom confidence is external and they need backing. I think Kuldeep needs backing. Look at his best periods. It has been when MS was behind the stumps. I feel he needs that validation more compared to other bowlers. And when you don’t get that and are not playing regularly, he does not get the confidence he needs. Some players are like that,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Saransh Jain gets his chance as Kuldeep misses out
It is worth noting that due to Kuldeep Yadav missing the clash, Saransh Jain got his chance in the side. With 54 First-Class games played, Saransh has 2223 runs to his name and has taken a total of 188 wickets as well, and it could be interesting to see how he fares in the clash against Sri Lanka.
Having won the first Test of the series, India will hope to put in another good show and clinch the two-game affair in hopes of staying alive in the race for the WTC final.