MUMBAI: Kuldeep Yadav’s recent exploits for India against England in the limited-overs series have come in for praise from Sachin Tendulkar, who believes that the 23-year-old is ready to compete in Test cricket.
“I have always maintained that he’s ready for the longest version of the game and that will be the most challenging one. I think he’s ready,” Tendulkar told Reuters in an interview.
Yadav, the left-arm wrist spinner, picked up nine wickets in the three-match one-day international series and five from two matches in the Twenty 20 International series before the Tests.
He will now compete with India’s highest-ranked spinners in the MRF ICC Test Rankings for bowlers, Ravindra Jadeja (No.3) and Ravichandran Ashwin (No.5), for a place in India’s playing XI.
“Looking at his repertoire, he has the capability to go there and compete, without any doubt,” Tendulkar said.
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Yadav started off his England tour with a five-wicket haul in the first T-20I in Manchester, and then a majestic 6/25 in the first ODI in Nottingham, which was also the best performance by any left-arm spin bowler in ODI cricket.
However, the England batsmen seemed to have countered his threat in the following ODIs. Yadav returned 3/68 and 0/55 in the final two games as England bounced back to win the series 2-1.
India had won the T-20I series by the same margin and Tendulkar believes a lot will depend on how the surfaces play out when it comes to the Tests.
“The English summer is pretty warm this time. If there’s a bit of help for our spinners then I am sure we will be in a position in the series to hurt them. That will be a critical factor.”
