Maybe Gill didn’t want Shardul, wanted Kuldeep: Gavaskar questions captain’s say in XI

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar believes Shubman Gill may not have had the final say in selecting the playing XI, a decision he insists should rest solely with the captain and not be influenced by anyone else, including the head coach.

The continued omission of left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has triggered intense debate, especially after Joe Root’s record-breaking century in the ongoing fourth Test, where he eclipsed Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket. Root, now on 13,409 runs, trails only Sachin Tendulkar’s record tally of 15,291.

“At the end of the day, it is the captain’s team,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports.

“You can’t say that he didn’t want somebody like, in Shardul Thakur’s case or Kuldeep Yadav’s case, that he didn’t want them, maybe Shubman didn’t want Shardul in the team and wanted Kuldeep,” he added.

Despite boasting a strong match-up against Root—having dismissed the England batter twice in three balls across two limited-overs games in 2018 at Manchester and Lord’s—Kuldeep has remained sidelined throughout the series. In both instances, Root was completely foxed by the Kuldeep’s guile.

The general perception is that head coach Gautam Gambhir has pushed for bowlers who can contribute with the bat, especially after India’s collapse in the Headingley Test where they slumped from 430/3 to 471 all out in 11 overs.

Gavaskar felt strongly that Kuldeep should have been part of the playing XI.

“He should have had him in the team. He is the captain. People are going to talk about him and his captaincy out there. So, it’s got to be his call really.”    The former India skipper also felt that internal disagreements or selection dynamics may be deliberately kept under wraps to show that “everything is fine” within the dressing room.

“I know that for the sake of showing everything is honky dory, these things might not come out. Fact is that the captain is responsible. He is the one who is going to be leading the XI players. Simple as that,” Gavaskar added.

Gavaskar further said things worked differently during his time as captain, when team selections were entirely the captain’s prerogative and the concept of a coach did not exist as it was all about managers and assitant managers.

“We didn’t have coaches. We just had former players as managers or assistant managers of the team. They were the kind of people who you went up to and talked to, they gave you some advice at lunchtime or at the end of the day’s play or on the eve of the game.

“So, it is difficult for me to get my head around the captain and the coach’s combination. When I was captain, we had nobody who was a former player,” Gavaskar said.

India have so far opted for seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur in the opening and ongoing fourth Test, and included Nitish Kumar Reddy in the second and third matches. However, their bowling contributions have been minimal.

Thakur has bowled just 27 overs across three innings, taking two wickets. At Headingley, he was used for just six overs in the first innings and 10 in the second.

Reddy, meanwhile, bowled 28 overs across two Tests with the same number of wickets. With the bat, Thakur has returned scores of 1, 4 and 41, while Reddy has managed 1, 1, 30 and 13.

India’s lack of a wicket-taking option like Kuldeep was felt during England’s massive 669 in the first innings in the ongoing Test, as pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah lacked adequate support and Mohammed Siraj also struggled to make an impact.