Hardik Pandya comments on Kuldeep Yadav’s inclusion

India lost the first test against England and went 1-0 down in the five match test series. The Asian team was miserable in the first test and was no better in their second outing. They were down by all wickets in just 107 runs.

The first day was washed out due to rain and the second day saw India collapse. There was some hope for them after reducing the hosts to 131/5 on the third day, but a 189 run partnership on the sixth wicket between Chris Woakes and Jonny Bairstow saw India fall into big trouble.

Ahead of the fourth day, India are in turmoil after trailing by 250 runs. Fortunately for the visitors, rain is expected to wash the fourth day out if the weather forecast is something to trust. The Indians will be hoping for the same weather on day five in order to salvage a draw from a match outside their hands.

Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli came to a decision of including Kuldeep Yadav in the playing eleven on day 3. This choice raised a few eyebrows, but Hardik Pandya has now clarified doubts over the conclusion of his coach and captain. The all-rounder said that team felt satisfied with three pace bowlers.

Sadly, Yadav’s inclusion has not gone too well in favour of India either due to the left arm spinner proving to be expensive. “Obviously. We had some thought behind it (Kuldeep’s inclusion). But we felt that three seamers were enough. We bowled properly, gave our full effort. Had this been a five-day game, the spinners would have come to use, but with the rain and everything, it stopped. There weren’t many footmarks created so it was not gripping that much,” he said while speaking to the reporters after the end of day’s play.

Hardik Pandya’s place in the third test is also under scrutiny after failing with the bat as well as ball. He was brave enough to own up to the mistake when questioned by the media.

“I don’t have any one particular role. I’m a batsman when I’m batting, bowler when I’m bowling. That’s my role, to keep it right and try to make sure that the batsman makes mistakes rather than me trying out too many stuff. We know that they love to play shots and when you’re doing that you tend to make a few errors,” Pandya added.